Red & Moon
by Kisara Strife
Summary: He's a wiry ex-Slums boy and she's a walking attitude problem from the Plate. Childhood friends that stuck together through it all ... but can they battle through the troubles of Shinra and their personal lives? Maybe best friends should remain as such.
1. Late

**Author's Note:** I think this is the second time I've re-written this chapter, so hopefully it will read a little better this time around ... either that or third time will be the charm, lol! Anyways, just want to say thanks a million for taking the time to read this guys!!

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**Important Note;** As stated in the original, this fic was inspired by a story called "_When Rude Met Reno_" by the talented **_Vitalini_ **whose fic in turn had been inspired by another Reno and Rude story called "_Stability_", whose author I sadly don't know, or else that person would be getting the credit. Seeing as this was inspired by **_Vitalini_'_s_** fic, I sought her permission to post it and she gave me consent. So if anyone wishes for proof, then pm me and I'll e-mail it to you, thanks guys!!

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The sound of yawning seemed to claim the large assembly hall on the fifty-fourth floor; one person had unintentionally let a tired yawn loose and like some contagious disease, the action soon spread like an epidemic though the Turk rookies. They had only just arrived from Junon half-an-hour ago and were immediately herded into this large hall to await an addressing from the President amongst other officials of the Shinra Electric Power Company.

Excitement and apprehension could be felt on the air, undermined by a lurking fear aswell; most of hopefuls had endured three to fours years of training and theory-study to get this far, and now they were just a few hurdles from the finish line. But they all knew they could still stumble and fall out of the race; only an elite few of their thirty strong regiment would make the cut.

The low chatter within the hall immediately died as the commander of Shinra's Turks stood. He was an intimidating man with dark brown hair, a matching goatee and hazel eyes. To further instil fear, the man possessed an aged face that was lined with wrinkles and a scar marring his left cheek. Veld also lacked one of his arms; his left one had been lost during Kalm's razing many years ago, but it had been replaced with a prosthetic fitted with an arsenal of materia.

The trainees watched in unknowing interest as the venerable commander turned to his second-in-command, a young man from Wutai named Tseng. Seconds ticked by as Veld mouthed a few hushed words to his future successor, with President Shinra looking very disgruntled. It looked as though all wasn't going to plan as a blonde woman threw a dirty look towards the two Turks.

Watching from the stands, the rookies seemed to be at a loss as to what was happening. Pushing his shades a little further up his nose, Rude suppressed a yawn as he looked down towards the suited Turks, his eyes trained on Veld and Tseng. The two were keeping their composure as leaders, but it was clear to see something was amiss. Almost as though reading his thoughts, a voice spoke close to his ear.

"What d'you think the problem is?"

It was Rob who asked the question, with his eyes looking to President Shinra. Rude shrugged his answer, an action Rob had become used to. They'd become good friends along with a few more trainees over the last couple of years; sharing the triumphs and failures of their training in Junon. The group of friends had become noticeably smaller in the last few months; people had either dropped out or had been deemed below-criteria by the Junon training scouts. He and Rob had once been part of a group of twelve friends, but that had rapidly shrunk to five. In the seats beside them sat the other three members of their small group; Kion, Leeron and Carla.

It was the only girl amongst the five that watched the Turks down below, her eyes trying to focus on Veld and his second-in-command. After a few more seconds, she was the one to answer Rob's question.

"I think they're looking for someone."

The young woman was somewhat of a lip-reader, only developing her talent in the past few months and not quite capable of reading whole conversations yet, but her knack helped out every now and then. Looking back down at the commander of the Turks, the young woman nodded her head, feeling sure of what was happening; she'd definitely seen Veld mouth the word_ "find_" and numerous Turks were exiting and entering the hall every few minutes, as though searching for something.

The hall remained silent as the atmosphere became tense. President Shinra was not looking very pleased with the delay on the Turks' part and the blonde woman seemed to be getting more impatient as the seconds ticked by. They'd been cooped here for almost an hour now, and many of the trainees were desperately fighting jetlag; as soon as they'd arrived from Junon they'd been led to this hall and now awaited the arrival of someone.

Veld took a steadying breath as his eyes scanned the trainees for the umpteenth time in the last hour; he had his Turks out looking for the duo, but none of the seven could locate them. He was angry now. He'd specifically pulled them aside last night and laid down the ground rules; not to be late for the newbies' arrival at any costs. Despite any warning the duo were missing in action, most likely still be in bed sleeping off hangovers. Why they were so unruly he would never know; the two were amongst his very best Turks, but they needed to grow up a little.

Rubbing his temple as a headache began to throb into life, Veld looked to Tseng and spoke lowly.

* * *

"_Someone find Red and Moon, now_."

Carla looked to the boys as she reiterated the words; those were the words Veld had just spoken to Tseng. She was lucky he had said it so slowly or her eyes wouldn't have followed his lip movements half as well. Not knowing what to make of the apparently abstract request, the boys merely shrugged and returned to watching the Turks below.

It was another tense fifteen minutes before the doors opened to reveal what everyone had been waiting for; two young individuals being frog-marched into the hall by two older Turks. The lanky redhead of the delinquent pair was a good foot taller than the brown-haired female, the two of them creating a somewhat mis-matched couple. In his hand was an i-Pod, with one earphone in his ear and the other in hers. They didn't seem to notice the awaiting trainees or even the President himself, just sheepishly looked to Tseng who spoke in a low yet serious voice.

"Take a seat; I will talk to both of you afterwards."

Rob blinked with surprise as he watched the new arrivals; they had been waiting all this time for these two? They looked like a couple of trainees. Why had they been forced to wait almost half an hour for this duo, when they appeared to be only out of Junon themselves?

The girl of the pair rolled her eyes up to heaven as she followed the lad nicknamed Red to the stands, with them sitting about two rows down from the trainees. As silence fell upon the hall once again, the woman with tresses of blonde hair stood forward to address the assembled recruits; she had large blue earrings and lips which bore overly-red lipstick. Though she was attractive, the woman wore quite a posh red dress which made her skin look pale. It wasn't the sort of thing one would wear when working; maybe if she were going to a formal of some sort the dress would be appropriate, but definitely not as the head of Weapon's Development.

Despite this, the blonde spoke with an air of high superiority and a voice tinged with annoyance. The harsh glare she wielded told the trainees that she not a person to have as an enemy. This was further emphasized as she spoke in a low voice, whilst looking pointedly at the late arrivals.

"Now that the last of the insubordinate Turks have arrived-"

"Scarlet, I've told you not to use words you can't spell."

The brunette nicknamed as 'Moon' was idly picking at her nails as she spoke the words, not even glancing up to see the threatening look on the blonde woman's face. That said, the youth did smile with satisfaction as a few of the rookies stifled laughs.

"C'mon then; in-sub-or-din-ate … sound it out and spell it, Scarlet."

A few chuckles escaped the tired trainees as the young woman decidedly looked up at Scarlet, still taunting her. To add to the annoyance, the redhead beside her began to laugh aswell, setting off a few of the newbies close by.

"That's enough, you two."

All of the hall, along with Red and Moon immediately fell silent as Veld spoke in a calm and yet clearly authoritative voice. It was clear to see the amusement in Tseng's eyes as he watched the two smirking guiltily, along with what appeared to be protectiveness; seeing this unusual trait, Carla frowned for a second.

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It was an hour and a half later, before the lengthy speeches of the Shinra officials and President Shinra himself were finally over and done with. The end of the addressing had only come about thanks to a little plump man named Heiddegger; he had summoned the company-owner away rather abruptly. The President's son had decided to pay an unexpected visit. A few of the Turks cringed as they heard this; the next couple of days should be fun as trouble always seemed abundant whilst Rufus was in the building, and they had a large amount of trainees to deal with aswell.

"Check it out …"

It was Rob to elbow Kion and point down to the two Turks who had entered late. Rob stifled a laugh as he looked to where his friend was pointing; the girl with brown hair had fallen asleep while leaning against the redhead. As the rest of the heads of departments exited the hall, Veld stood up to the podium and ran his gaze over the newbies once more, taking note of a slumbering individual amongst his Turks.

"When I have finished talking, all Turk-hopefuls are permitted to the common room and cafeteria to get some food; you will be led there by Caleb. All of you are to assemble in this hall at nine hundred hours tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

"C'mon yo!"

Moon woke with a start as her friend grabbed her by the arm and jumped into the throng of departing trainees, and forcefully dragging her with him; she was still half-asleep as equally-tired rookies surrounded her and Red's hand yanked her forward. They managed to make it to within eight feet of the door before Veld's serious voice was heard summoning them back again, having watched their attempt at an escape.

"Moon and Red, get back here!"

"Shit, yo…"

Carla glanced over her shoulder as the duo were called back, curiosity getting the better of her; she wanted to see how the Turks would be penalised for the lack of respect they had shown. The two had turned to face their commander and stood before him, grinning like two children before an angry parent or an annoyed teacher. They bore no respect at all; neither of them apologised to Tseng or Veld, and both of their uniforms were sloppy and untidy. The lad had an un-tucked shirt with half the buttons open and was sporting worn sneakers, whilst the girl wore the female version of the uniform trouser and her shirt was un-tucked aswell, with the top two buttons opened and her black bra just about visible.

Hovering by the door, Carla let her friends walk ahead as she remained interested in the punishing of qualified Turks, that and the duo intrigued her somewhat; to act so nonchalant in a profession where obedience and respect were core seemed outrageous to her.

"What was that about?"

The young trainee noted that Veld didn't sound angry, just slightly weary. It was almost as though he had dealt with this kind of behaviour on countless occasions before and it no longer had any effect on him. The two just shrugged in response to the question.

"Sorry miss, but you can't stay here; eavesdropping is considered bad-manners."

Carla jumped as she heard the voice behind her and turned to see a tall, suited Turk standing there. His green eyes were looking from her to hall where his comrades were being reprimanded; the two would get off with slapped wrists, but the little newbie was a bit too curious for her own good.

"If Tseng or Veld caught you, they'd probably send you straight back to Junon to start your training all over again."

At this, the rookie looked to the ground, blushing furiously at the thought; she could have just thrown away four years of training for nothing. Smiling kindly, the black-haired individual began walking towards the end of the corridor as she followed, feeling low.

"And you might want to watch how you use your lip-reading aswell; curiosity killed the Chocobo…"

"You saw that?"

More blushing as the Turk nodded and she diverted her gaze to the ground whilst walking; this hadn't been the best of starts in the Turks so far.

* * *

Getting tired of standing still and waiting to be told off yet again, the redheaded lad took a silver necklace form his pocket and began twirling it around his finger. Tseng shook his head as he recognised the necklace and spoke to the boy with slight annoyance.

"Will you quit that?"

"Hey! That's mine, you freak!"

Having looked to chain at the same time as Tseng, the girl grabbed it from Red's hand and slapped him round the back of his head; he always managed to undo the clasp without her noticing. Fastening the chain around her slender neck, Moon looked up at her superiors, flashing a cheeky yet hopeful grin.

"Are we finished yet?"

Veld nodded wearily and sighed yet again as the youthful tag-team exited the hall; what had he been thinking? They'd never grown up in his wildest dreams. Walking out into the corridor of the Shinra building, Red and Moon paused for a second to gain their bearings and make sure that Scarlet wasn't on their tails for an earlier prank. She might be mad for the jibes earlier, but just wait until she saw her lovely newly-detailed car…

"Where to, yo?"

Smirking at his question, Moon looked up at her friend with a mischievous twinkle in her own hazel eyes. She nodded in the general direction of where the rookies had headed and reclaimed one of Red's still-audible earphones.

"The common room obviously; I want to see these newbies!"

**A/n- Thanks a million for taking the time read this guys and please let me know what you thought of it!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	2. No More Smokes

**Author's Note:**The re-written version of the already re-written chapter, lol! Thanks a million to "Zexion'sEmoQueen" for noticing an overlooked typo of the perverted kind! Thanks, as always, for taking the time to read my stuff guys!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

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As the two late arrivals walked into the Turks' common room, numerous trainees and their qualified peers looked up, taking note of the duo. Smiles were worn on the lips of the suited Turks, almost as though used to such behaviour, something which seemed completely unacceptable to the newbies; for months upon months they'd been told that Turks should be stoic and insensitive to anything and anyone around them. That was the reason they were chosen to carry out the more "delicate" missions not assigned to SOLDIER, and yet the redhead and his brunette partner-in-crime seemed to be anathema to the instructors at Junon.

More confusion for the rookies as one of the qualified Turks looked up from his sitting position on the floor and laughed, speaking as he did so.

"Nice show, you two!"

The girl Tseng and Veld had dubbed as 'Moon' smirked as she looked down at the speaking redhead on the floor; he'd been a motorbike gang-leader in the slums at the age of eighteen and had thought himself somewhat invincible, until he'd attempted to steal a motorbike from the Shinra garages. The youth had just about managed to do so, though beaten pretty badly and was only capable of escaping due to the interference of some young Grunts who had gotten in the Turks' way. Two days later he had handed himself over to the suited department, wanting to become as strong as them. Rod had been with them for three years now.

Ignoring the somewhat dumbstruck hopefuls, the Turks began to move about; this was their common room after all and if the newbs were amazed at Red and Moon already, just wait until the pair really started causing trouble. Movement gradually began to creep back into the room as the seconds ticked by; it really was just a large area for the Turks to relax in whilst off-duty. The common room consisted of two large sofas, a few armchairs, a coffee table and a large plasma television, on which the Shinra News was now being aired. A small kitchen area adorned one of the corners, in another stood a large bookshelf with various tomes on swordsmanship, firearm handling, martial arts and numerous other topics. To complete the common room, there were two doors besides the exit; one led to a bathroom, with the other housing a closet, where spare uniforms were stored.

"Moon and Red, Scarlet is on the look-out for you two."

A blond male Turk by the name of Caleb informed the duo of such as he passed by with a steaming mug. In retaliation, Moon smirked and pushed Red ahead of her, towards the mini-kitchen as her eyes seemingly sparkled yet again; it wasn't a heavy Mako-glow that inhabited her partner's luminescent orbs and yet it wasn't completely natural either.

"Make me a cuppa, I'm getting a seat!"

She laughed as he pointed two fingers in her direction in a choice gesture, then her hazel eyes looked around the familiar room and towards the centre, where two sofas faced each other, with numerous armchairs surrounding it. There was about five newbies inhabiting one of the sofas and the armchairs so she made her move to quickly claim the other couch; in the common room law stated all seats were up for grab as soon as one's butt left it.

Rude looked up as the girl lowered herself heavily into the cushioned sofa. The young woman was silent for a minute or two, smiling arrogantly as she ran her eyes over himself and his group of friends, sharing a look with another female Turk on the other side of the room. Okay, so newbies were supposed to be a bit nervous, but these guys appeared to be petrified. She'd read about them in the files Junon had sent down for each Turk recruit and it had been mentioned of how quiet they were, but jeez; they could at least breathe!

Baldy looked the least likely to strike up a conversation, then again none of his friends seemed any more likely; the short-haired girl was almost shaking in her seat as she watched the people around her and Moon could have sworn one of the boys looked about ready to faint as he watched the Turks Caleb and Johnjo talking, but the baldy dude with the sunglasses just stared into space, not taking any notice of the goings-on around him ... or at least she presumed he was staring; for all she could see behind the shades, he could be asleep. Remembering his name from reading through his file a few nights ago, the brown-haired young Turk waved a hand in front of his face, getting the shaded rookie's attention.

"So what kinda name is Rude?"

The silent young man either didn't care of how she knew his name, or just wasn't a curious person by nature, for he merely returned to his vague staring. A few seconds of silence passed in which it seemed Rude wouldn't answer until, still staring into space, he spoke lowly.

"What kind of name is Moon?"

"Touché baldy."

The Turk-girl, who had been idly picking at her nails during his seconds of silence, glanced around with a disinterested air as she looked to the newbie Turk. She sported that arrogant smile yet again as she noticed his friends becoming interested in the exchanging of words. Moon didn't know why Rude's friends seemed to be so impressed by his comeback; he'd probably just heard Veld shouting after her and Red, Minerva knew he had shouted loud enough for the President to hear on the seventieth floor. Big deal; they'd all have nicknames if they actually made the cut. That was the way it went within the Turks' infrastructure; nicknames developed for the sake of missions and not getting attached to potential targets.

"So ... w-why do they call you that?"

Upon hearing the nervous voice, Moon looked to the girl with short dark hair, thankful that someone was taking the initiative to start speaking freely. Carla; that was her name, if memory served Moon correctly, the girl was originally from Kalm, but moved to Cosmo Canyon when she was a little kid; that explained her slightly tanned complexion.

"Those are our nicknames, the redhead's name is Reno, and we call him 'Red' for obvious reasons, as for me, my name's Maya; it was Reno who started calling me 'Moon' and the name just kinda stuck. You guys'll probably have nicknames before long aswell."

Maya smirked as she saw a flicker of movement from the baldy dude, besides that shadow of a reaction the group of five responded with dumbfounded stares; they had heard those two names numerous times over the last couple of years. The highest scoring records were displayed on large screens at the Junon training facility and the records on each were held by either Reno or Maya; only a lonely one or two records lay claim to other Turks, such as Tseng and Veld.

"Here ya go, yo."

Reno's arrival at the sofa was announced as he placed a cup on the table in front of Maya and plonked down beside her. The redhead then deliberately stretched out full-length and used her thigh as a pillow, an action which the female Turk appeared to be familiar with as she overlooked it and picked up the cup, speaking as she did so.

"Reno, say hi to Carla, Kion, Rob, Leeron and Rude."

Rob blinked; how exactly had she known their names? Whatever about them not telling her, but he knew Rude hadn't managed that many words when talking to her a few minutes ago. The redhead called Reno looked to each in turn as Maya listed the names, but paused at the last one and frowned for a second.

"What kinda name's Rude, yo?"

This time the shaded individual remained silent; now that he knew the reason behind their nicknames he had no comeback. The rookies seemed a bit surprised that the real, qualified Turks were sitting down and talking to them like this; back in Junon they had been told to expect cold and stoic attidudes and only to converse when given orders … but this was different; it had the atmosphere of some sort of family as numerous older individuals called over and hither to each other in pleasant tones and good moods. After a while, a question occurred to Rob as he thought back over Maya's explanation for her nickname; she had said that Reno had come up with it. Red, he understood the reason behind that name, but why _Moon_?

"So, ehh…Reno, why d'you call her 'Moon' anyway?"

The light blue eyes looked in his direction for a moment, studying the youth as though contemplating whether to actually answer or not; the redhead seemed rather amused by the fact the newbie seemed hesitant about speaking his real name ... Minerva bless the trainers in Junon; they had really scared the crap out of this batch. Not bothering to swallow the mouthful of biscuit he was currently chewing and disregarding any thought of manners, Reno smirked as he answered.

"Because her name is 'Crescent', so like a moon, you get it; _Crescent_ moon, huh yo?"

"Eeeew, Reno!"

As he spat a some biscuit crumbs onto her uniform trousers Maya jolted the thigh he was resting on upwards. Sitting up rapidly, Reno raised one hand rising to his mouth as he accidentally bit his tongue, the other hand grabbed a half-eaten biscuit and threw it at her. Forgetting herself, Carla laughed as she watched the two, brushing a few strands of her black hair from her face. She continued to watch as Maya playfully kicked at Red. A few of the older Turks were watching now, each one with the same look of knowing in their eyes whilst their faces bore smiles.

It seemed obvious that Maya and Reno had been a couple for a while now, to show such intimacy in open, like Reno using her thigh as a pillow and making her the cup of tea, but that had been a running joke between the qualified Turks ever since the duo had joined their ranks, but the Turks knew the truth; the rookies just labelled as they saw and that was where most made a mistake.

"How long've you two been together?"

At the sound of this seemingly ever-popular question, the fighting pair abruptly ceased their struggles and looked to Carla, who had asked the question with such ease. This was definitely nothing new; even Tseng and Veld had presumed such when they'd first started in the Turks, and yet it never failed to draw bemused looks from the two young Turks. Still smiling her arrogant smile, Maya spoke and laughed lightly as she did so.

"We're not a couple; I am _so_ not that desperate!"

As she heard this, Carla immediately blushed a deep crimson and stuttered a little as she spoke; she hadn't meant to offend the Turk, even though Maya was now laughing. It had just seemed overly-obvious to her eyes that Reno and Maya had been boyfriend and girlfriend; the open attitude between them, the sharing of the earphones earlier and then the leaning on her thigh ...

"I-I'm sorry … it's just-"

"We look like a couple, huh yo?"

Reno was also laughing as he asked this, nodding as he did so; everyone always thought the same. As the newbies nodded their heads without a word, he turned to his friend with a wide smirk across his face; Maya knew he fancied her… but then again, Reno fancied any girl who had a set of tits, and that was putting it in nice words for the womanizing youth, and most guys in the Turks took a liking to Maya ... and the guys in SOLDIER too, and one very high-up blond young man aswell; she was well-liked by the males of the force. But Maya was one of the gang; she got on well with guys and preferred them as friends. Being friends with males meant it was a lot less messy if there was ever a disagreement.

"C'mon, Moon, you know you want me, yo!"

As the hazel-haired young woman laughed and shook her head at Reno, Yarth, one of the oldest Turks employed by Shinra walked into the common room. His kindly grey eyes immediately searched for, and locked onto the two youngsters sitting on one of the sofas, talking to the newbies. He glanced over his shoulder towards the door of the common room and spoke in a serious tone.

"Heads up Red and Moon; Scarlet and Hojo are headed here."

Hearing the cautioning words, Reno nodded his head at Yarth and looked to the group of five Turk-wannabees; he flashed a cheeky grin and leaped to his feet, grabbing Maya's hand and pulling the young woman away from the sofa with him. The newbies blinked at his surprising speed; for some reason the two Turks needed to get out of view and quickly at that.

"Pleasure talking to you little newbies, but we gotta go, yo!"

Maya cursed loudly as she let Reno drag her along; trust Scarlet to go and get pissed over the little comments from earlier! As the telltale sound off high-heels click-clacked ever closer to the common room door, Rod looked up from the schematics he was currently studying; he knew who the wearer of those high-heels were - a woman with no possession of a good mood, and he didn't want to get caught in the crossfire if Reno and Maya didn't hide soon.

"Hurry up and hide you two!"

As Rod half-shouted and half-whispered his words, the click-clacking grew ever closer and also hastened in pace, as though the blonde knew she had them cornered. The quickened noise only served in adding to the somewhat panicked atmosphere that was steadily building up inside the common room. The Turks knew what would happen if Scarlet and Hojo got a hold to the duo, but the new trainees were only just down from Junon and were all looking about in a dumbfounded fashion.

"In here, yo!"

Finally finding a hiding-place that was big enough for both of them, Reno pulled Maya into the old fridge cupboard; it had once housed the Turks' now-broken refrigerator, but thanks to Rod and Keeno, who had stabbed the old fridge by accident whilst trying to de-frost it, the six foot high cupboard was now just an empty and hiding-place. It was an all-too perfect hiding-place that only the Turks knew of.

Stifling a laugh and trying not to make noise, Maya had to admit that there was a slight nervousness with being chest-to-chest with her friend. The cupboard was only about two feet wide but it would have to do for the click-clacking had almost reached its crescendo. As he heard Scarlet talking with Hojo, Yarth looked to the cupboard; Maya's foot was pressing against the door and keeping it slightly ajar.

"Maya, move your foot!"

Reno was the one to hear Yarth and placed his hands around his friend, pulling her closer just enough to allow the door to close with an inaudible thud; he so didn't want to endure Barbie's wrath today, or Hojo ... though Scarlet scared him more; much, much more.

As all this took place, the newbies looked on in a confused daze. The experienced Turks just shook their heads and warned them to ignore the goings-on. One was or the other, they got the message not to give away the duo's hiding-spot. The common room fell into a deafening silence as its inhabitants awaited the arrival of the irate head of Weapons Development. Seconds ticked by as the clock on the wall gained a whole new level of volume.

* * *

It was only as they all started to relax that the blonde burst into the Turks' comfort zone with all the grace of a raging bull, weedy little Hojo following a safe distance behind. She looked around the room at the numerous Turks, not being able to locate the two that she wanted to throttle so much. Tseng and Veld also walked in a few seconds later, having been expecting Scarlet to arrive and they had timed it pretty well. With non-sated anger, Scarlet walked around the room and made numerous threats as she did so and also found comfort in kicking unsuspecting newbies out of her way.

"Where are they? Oooh! I'll give that little Slums rat _spell insubordinate_! She's the epitome of it!"

The blonde continued to rant as she made her way around the room; even checking the closet that housed the spare uniforms, and removing all the black suits in her bid to find Red and Moon . Meanwhile, in the refrigerator cupboard, Maya was trying her hardest not to burst out laughing; she hated Scarlet and Scarlet hated her. It was simple and she accepted it, but it was just so amusing to know how frustrated the woman was becoming. Biting her tongue, the young Turk tuned back into numerous threats that were currently being voiced.

"As for that little redheaded weasel she hangs out with! Oh, I swear if I get near him, I'll separate his cocky head from his two shoulders!"

This time Maya had to clamp a hand over Reno's mouth as he made to laugh out loud; as funny as it was, she really didn't want to become Hojo's pet for the day. It was hard enough to stop herself from laughing without him going into the hysterics beside her; if Scarlet didn't leave soon, they'd end up giving themselves away. Mercifully, Hojo and Scarlet left a few seconds later, albeit with one or two more threats and a few choice words thrown in the direction of Tseng and Veld. When the two enraged Shinra superiors had disappeared and the click-clacking of Scarlet's high heels had faded to a safe distance, Veld turned to Tseng and sighed his words as he ignored the lost-looking trainees.

"Tell them to come out …"

Tseng nodded and looked straight down at the fridge cupboard; he had learned of this new hiding place a few days ago and had had a feeling the duo would utilize it, albeit not as soon as they had managed to. That said, he supposed it was better than letting Hojo have his way with the two again; the last time the man had gotten his grips on the duo had been disastrous and, thanks to himself and Veld, not good for the scientist's well-being either.

"Reno and Maya, you can come out now."

The second-in-command didn't have to wait long at all, for within the next few seconds Maya and Reno had fallen out of the cupboard and onto the floor, roaring with laughter. It was plain to see the amusement in Tseng's eyes as he watched the two and even Veld cracked a weary smile as the other Turks also laughed, leaving the newbies in a somewhat excluded silence.

As the two continued to laugh, Veld stood forward and shook his head with the slightest of smirks tinting his lined face. It was all well and good when they got away with taunting the blonde, but Scarlet was not a woman to be crossed very often and he had a feeling the two youngsters were nearing the end of their tethers; next time they got caught, he nor Tseng would be able to intervene as they had last time.

"You two need to stop annoying that pair."

Maya smiled as she stood, kicking her friend as he made to grab her foot; Veld worried too much in her opinion. It had been ages since Scarlet had reaped her revenge and she wouldn't do that same thing again, surely. Still smiling with amusement, the young Turk took out her cigarettes and placed one in her mouth without a second thought to the action. As she fumbled for a lighter, Maya continued talking.

"I hope when I'm as old as Scarlet, I won't be as bitter-hey!"

The young woman exclaimed angrily as Tseng pulled the cigarette from her mouth and broke it in half, snatching the near-full packet from her hand and placing them in his suit pocket. He turned his back on he as she stared with an incredulous look. No respect was used as Maya addressed the superior Turk by name and did nothing to hide her discontentment at his actions.

"Tseng, what gives?"

"You've been told over and over; smoking will kill you."

"And you've been told over and over; I hand out with Red - smoking is what stops me from killing him!"

As though oblivious to the somewhat inappropriate actions of both Turk and second-in-command, Veld walked out of the common room with a smirk on his face, with Tseng following a few steps behind. Now in a foul mood that rivalled Scarlet's, Maya pushed Reno forcefully as he laughed at her predicament and made her way back to the couch they'd been sitting on earlier. Red followed aswell, but a safe distance behind her. None of the five newbies they had been talking with spoke straight away; they were too busy trying to contemplate why Tseng had seemed so adamant about Moon not smoking … it seemed somewhat intrusive. Why should he have so much concern for her habits when she was merely an employee? Unless there was something between the lines that they were missing. Maybe that was it; maybe there was something going on between Tseng and Maya Crescent.

Carla looked up as the pair sat; her and Tseng? For some reason such a thing just didn't sit right with her; if he were her lover then he'd let her smoke if he cared that much ... when she had wanted to start smoking when younger, it had been her parents to discourage her from doing such; that was it! But Tseng was much too young for Moon to be his daughter, unless he had fathered her as a teenager. Now her head was starting to hurt a little ... Carla welcomed Kion's voice interrupting her train of thought as he asked a question

"What was the hiding about?"

Moon grinned as she began to pick at her nails, needing something to distract her from her nicotine craving. She was still angry at Tseng for taking her cigarettes like that; that was the umpteenth time he'd done it and she was starting to get tapped out buying the new packs every other day.

"Scarlet is an old bitch who hates us and all Turks, and Hojo is a demented pervert who lurks in the basement; we tried fumigating, but the bastard's like a cockroach!"

Leeron and Rob laughed as she spoke; Maya didn't give a shit who she insulted, whether he or she was a superior or not. Something told them that she didn't care if she was heard either. With a plan, the hazel-haired Turk turned around, looking over the back of the couch and cast a glance around, looking for the young man who had escorted the newbies to the common room earlier. Seeing the blond-haired Turk, Maya called to him and addressed Caleb by his nickname, as she did with most of their usual group.

"Hey Sunshine, give us a ciggie?"

Her fellow Turk looked back and shook his head with a grin before shrugging his shoulders. The blond returned his blue eyes back to the paper in his hand as the Chocobo Race results scrolled down the television screen; no winners within the Shinra building tonight. After a few seconds, the young man called back across the common room, but kept his attention focused on the paper.

"Tseng gave us strict orders; you're not to get any."

"Hmph!"

Maya turned back around, sinking into the cushiony sofa with a childish air and folded her arms across her chest, these actions reflecting her indignant reckoning of her boss's concern. As she watched the young woman doing this, an aged amber-haired female Turk called over. She spoke in a somewhat authoritative and seemingly motherly tone.

"You know Tseng is right, Maya-"

"Stacia, I'm not listening, unless it concerns me getting a pull out of a ciggie!"

Moon leaned backwards, out over the arm of the sofa as she said this whilst smiling. The common room was cast upside down and her hair responded to gravity; the ponytail trailing the carpeted ground. By the way Maya stuck her tongue out and Stacia smiled fondly, the newbies could clearly see the affection between the two. With the blood rushed to her head, Maya didn't hear Reno leaning closer as he caught her two feet and shoved her over the arm of the sofa, resulting in his friend landing on the carpeted ground with a thump and a string of curses falling effortlessly from her mouth.

"_Oooh_, you lanky prick!"

She stood, rubbing her head as the older Turks laughed in genuine and amused tones as they all watched the youths. Reno was gesturing peace as he laughed, by means of raising his hands in surrender. Unfortunately the gesture was undermined by his continuous laughing.

"I'm sorry yo, but I couldn't resist-"

"I don't care; that hurt!"

Maya cut him short as she delivered a spiteful kick to his shin, making full contact with it. Reno grimaced and clutched his lower leg, not willing to cry out and give her the satisfaction; she was not a young woman to be merciful, whether that was on a mission or merely in the common room and he knew that. The bruise that would surely form on his shin would be a testament to her attitude problem.

"Screw you; I'm gonna sit with tall and silent over here, yo!"

He stood and limped around the coffee table, sitting beside the impassive Rude with a poignant air to his movements. Maya shrugged and stretched out on the now vacant sofa, enjoying the legroom; at least if she couldn't smoke, she could revel in having pissed Reno off and relish the extra room on the sofa. For some reason she just couldn't see Reno and Rude getting along; from the trainee's file she had learned he was a rather taciturn individual and didn't like conversing very much in opposition, Reno was somewhat of a chatter.

"He's a barrel of fun, huh yo?"

The redhead nodded to the formidable Rude beside him, who was just as silent and impassive as he'd been for the last couple of hours. Maya just shook her head and smirked; knowing Reno he would make it his utmost priority to get a word out of this man and she could only pity the trainee.

**A/n- Thanks a million for taking the time to read guys; it really does mean the world to me so thanks again and let me know what you thought!!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	3. Old Timers

**Author's Note:** Once again, I had to re-write this chapter and, oppposite to what one usually does, I actually had to shorten this chapter, lol! Anyways, I hope it's easier to read now and thanks again for taking a look!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

"C'mon little ones! Rise and shine, yo!"

Reno arrival in the common room the next morning was heard before it was seen as he called out to the trainees, Maya by his side. Tired yawns and groans hung on the air and filled the common room of Shinra's Department of Administrative Research. Maya couldn't help but smile at the half-asleep newbies; the common room was looking somewhat like a morgue this morning.

"C'mon guys, you've made it this far; you should be used to early mornings!"

Maya clapped her hands loudly and shouted, hoping to wake them up a bit more; Tseng and Veld mightn't mind her falling asleep during their lectures, but they wouldn't be as forgiving with the trainees. As the pair of Turks stood at the door of the common room, the numerous hopefuls began to file out and into the labyrinthine corridors, still half-asleep. As the redhead occupied himself with bothering some of the others, Maya gravitated towards the Carla; Keeno had mentioned something about her trying to spy on them yesterday.

"So, a little birdy told me you like spying …"

The girl blushed as soon she looked at Maya who had raised a hazel eyebrow questioningly. Maybe her espionage skills weren't as honed as they should have been. And of course the other Turk would have told her.

"I-I'm sorry … if it's any c-consolation, I got caught."

"Yeah, Keeno told me; he was the guy who caught you. And you don't need to apologise, just make sure Tseng and Veld don't catch you, huni."

Carla nodded her head, already well-aware of the repercussions of getting caught by the commander or his second-in-command. As they walked, the two females conversed, with Maya learning a bit more about Carla's past. The files had been correct in stating she was from a small village hidden in the depths of Cosmo Canyon, her parents were avid followers of the Study of Planet Life and had disowned the girl for her deciding to enrol in the Shinra Turk Academy. It was because of this that Maya felt pity for the trainee; even though she had her friends, it wasn't the same as having her family at home to support her. That said, Moon refrained from trying to comfort the girl; where family was concerned she wasn't exactly an expert.

The group of rookies, flanked by the two Turks arrived at the briefing hall a early and took up seats in the lower stands. The trainees used the spare time to catch a few more winks, wake up fully or to just casually talk amongst themselves. Reno and Maya smirked happily as they noticed the empty hall; after annoying them yesterday, the duo had been deliberate in getting the newbies to the hall on time for Tseng and Veld.

"Hey Maya, what's SOLDIER-boy doin' here, yo?"

Maya looked to Reno as he asked the question, trying to tie her hair up out of the way. The redhead pointed down to the door of the assembly hall where a familiar face could be seen through the glass panel in the door. Shrugging, Maya stood and headed for the door

"I'll be back in a minute."

None of the Turks were looking very happy with her going out to the SODLIER - none of them wanted a SOLDIER on their floor; in recent times, the Turks had been losing a lot of their funding to the SOLDIER programme and bitterness had taken hold between the two floors. That said, Moon didn't care about funding and made a point of keeping in touch with her SODLIER friends, a habit that annoyed her colleagues. Pushing the swinging door open, Maya walked out into the hall and spotted the tall figure.

"Zack, what are you doing on the Turk floor?"

The Mako-infused eyes looked down the inch or so separating their height, with the young man smirking, but not sporting the wide smile he usually did. The lack of smiling didn't go unnoticed though.

"Sephiroth said these files are for your department, something to do with AVALANCHE; they got sent to us by mistake."

Sephiroth said that? What about Angeal; he was Zack's mentor and usually dealt with the majority of SOLDIER's paperwork. Why was the usually hyper country-boy being so quiet? And why was he handling the paperwork this time around. As he turned to leave, Maya reached out and caught his wrist.

"Zack, what's wrong?"

It was then that Tseng and Veld walked up the corridor, both seeming somewhat surprised by the presence of the 1st Class on their floor. Letting go of her friend's wrist in an instant, Maya grinned and indicated the files in her hand.

"Have fun with Red and the newbies; I have to go to the SOLDIER floor and collect the files Zack forgot!"

In an instant she was gone from their sight, not even giving her bosses the chance to question her or request the files; instead Maya had disappeared around the corner at the end of the corridor. Shaking his head, Veld spoke in an exasperated voice.

"Something tells me young Fair isn't one to forget files …"

* * *

"So, spill!"

Zack smiled as the Turk walked along beside him; Maya was the only one who could lie to her boss's face and still get away with it. She'd been in Shinra as long as he could remember; even when he had arrived from Gongaga as a lowly 3rd Class, the girl had been glimpsed around the company's corridors, though not as a suited assassin. It had been through Kunsel that he'd become friends with her, and Maya was an invaluable ally when she wanted to be. But where was he to begin telling of all that had happened within SOLDIER during the last few weeks?

"SOLDIER is like a den of monsters. Don't go inside, Maya."

"Zack …"

"Genesis defected from us and took most of our 3rd Classes and over half our 2nds with him. He stole Shinra technology to clone himself and … and Angeal left with him."

The last part of the sentence caused Zack to look at the ground, almost as though it had hurt him to say it. Angeal Hewley, defected? Surely there must have been some kind of mistake? Maya hadn't seen him in a few weeks, but she could remember wandering from the Turk floor when she was only a little kid and getting lost, somehow winding up on the SOLDIER floor. Angeal had found her and brought her back to Tseng. He was a tall man who had always sounded wise to her ears.

"Dude, I'm sorry … I don't really know what to say. How's Aerith?"

This time Moon earned a laugh from the subdued SOLDIER; she knew exactly the right time to change the topic of conversation. Aerith was a flower girl in the slums who frequented a beautiful old church in Sector 5. Zack had introduced her to Maya about two years ago when they'd first become a couple and the young Turk had been off-duty with a mutual friend of his. But Aerith was also a Cetra, something Maya had only learned in the last couple of months. Veld and Tseng often had her complete some of the paperwork for their department and she had come across a log of the slum-dweller's activities. Being privy to information on attempted abductions of the last Ancient, the Turk leaked the information to Zack who, in turn, relayed to Aerith. If it were any other target, then it would have been fine, but the fact that Zack had introduced her to Aerith allowed Moon to get attached; something a Turk was never meant to do.

"She's good and says thanks for the last heads-up."

"Cool; there shouldn't be anymore attempts on her while we have all these newbies but I'll find out as much as I can."

"Thanks Maya."

The young woman smiled as she shifted the files in her arms, then turned to leave; Tseng and Veld would be wondering where she had gotten too. As the head of Weapons Development, Scarlet often frequented the SOLDIER floor and the girl did not want to be caught by the blonde either. But something stopped her in her tracks as she remembered Zack's words.

"Hey Zack?"

"Mmmm?"

"You said Genesis took half of your 2nd Classes, what about-"

"Kunsel's fine, Maya."

Relief flooded her as Zack waved and headed in his own direction, but still … why would two 1st Classes just up and leave like that?

* * *

When she entered the assembly hall numerous heads looked to Maya, including Red's with a poignant "_where have you been, yo?_" look on his face. Shrugging, the brunette walked over to her friend and handed the files to Tseng, who was standing in front of them; probably to make sure they didn't start causing trouble again … she couldn't blame him.

"Miss Crescent."

The voice that spoke was the only one in the whole of the Shinra building that could make her jump with fright, but Tseng was immediately to the fore of her frame as Maya seemed to shrink somewhat. Hojo scared her and she wasn't afraid to admit it; even some of the SOLDIERs were scared of him, and with good reason too. An amused laugh could be heard as the girl took her seat alongside the redhead; Scarlet was also in the hall along with her demented scientist sidekick.

As Veld began to address the hopeful trainees yet again, it was apparent to see Tseng deliberately standing right in front of Reno and Maya as Hojo eyed them; the scientist's gaze seemingly lingered over the two delinquents of the Turk force with an almost delightful gleam in his beady eyes. Carla watched from the stands as the white-coated man kept his eyes trained on Reno and Maya; Tseng stood more to the fore of the duo with his arms folded. Her eyes then flitted to Veld, who nodded almost unnoticeably as kept one eye on Tseng and continued to address the rookies. To her, the actions of Tseng and Veld seemed somewhat inappropriate yet again; if it were Maya he had the connections with, then why was he guarding Reno even before she entered the hall?

As the observant trainee confused herself even more, Tseng kept his strong eyes trained on the scientist. The last time Hojo had managed to get his hands on Maya, his experimenting had almost killed her and anything, even as small as a nosebleed could cause Reno to contract Mako-poisoning from his own blood.

An hour later and the talk was over, with all the trainees filing down towards the door of the assembly hall. Many were groaning and muttering under their breath about the news they had just been told, but one voice could be heard protesting the loudest.

"A fight! What a hope, yo!"

Reno continued to curse his way through his extensive vocabulary of swears as he walked from the stands, not at all happy. It had been announced, albeit begrudgingly, by Tseng that Shinra was to host a tournament; the best of the trainees would be pitted against the experienced Turks. None of them would have minded if it was a way to weed out the newbies, but it was all for the entertainment of the higher-ups.

Maya wasn't a fan of entertaining the posh of Midgar and was also in a sour mood as they rounded up the trainees to head back to the common room; training initiated tomorrow and there would be a non-stop regime in action. Tonight would be one of the Turks' last nights off for a while.

"Where did you disappear to, yo?"

"I had to collect some files on the SOLDIER floor, uh-oh…"

She elbowed Red lightly, nodding towards a certain blonde individual whose high heels were steadily click-clacking towards them. All the newbies froze as the woman drew closer and spoke loudly enough to be heard, causing Tseng and Veld to turn on the spot.

"I am in no way finished with you two yet …"

"It's so time to run, yo!"

As the irate superior closed in on the youngsters she had wanted to deal with the previous night, Reno grabbed Maya's elbow and spun her in the direction of the door with a worried look on his face; it was all fun and games when they got a head-start on Scarlet or managed to hide form her, but the blonde was fit and a good chaser when she wanted to be, especially when they didn't have their usual head-start. Moon let him pull her along and started running aswell, seeing as their lives were now in danger.

* * *

"I'm beat … I think I'm gonna die!"

Maya and Reno's arrival in the common room later that night was announced by the female's words. They had been pursued by Scarlet for about the duration of length and had; the duo had managed to lose her by splitting up on the sixty-third floor and working their way back down again.

"Don't care, Maya; you still have to do your paperwork."

Keeno's words were answered by Maya sticking out her tongue at him; she didn't have the energy to hit him. Still trying to catch her breath, the young woman laughed weakly and flopped down on the sofa, opposite Rude and his gang occupying the armchairs. The bald young man watched from behind his shades; her breathing shallow as she attempted to catch her breath, but she didn't seem to be as beat as Red; he had just laid out on the floor and remained there. It seemed odd to see the redhead so still, but he wasn't moving for anyone; they could walk around or over him.

"I didn't think Scarlet would be that pissed at you two."

Stacia shook her head and tutted as she spoke; she'd always thought Scarlet would have much more composure than that. The woman had completely abandoned any thought of her superiority and acted like the kids she was chasing

Rod snorted lightly as he heard this; trust Amber to be so proper about things. As he bit his tongue, the redhead noticed Stacia to be looking at him with a reprimanding look; she had heard his snort. Flashing a grin, the ex gang-leader returned to the motorbike plans he was studying; Amber was just too motherly for her own good. Maya grinned and spoke in a nonchalant manner as she scraped her hazel locks up into an untidy bun.

"She's gonna be twice as pissed when she sees what we've done to her car."

At this, Red began laughing to himself rather maliciously, not letting anyone else in on the knowledge he shared with his counterpart. Feeling confused, Carla looked from him to Maya; it was as though she'd just missed out on a joke of some sort. Reno continued to laugh, although he was hampered a slight cough whilst still panting.

"What did you do?"

"The less you know, the better…"

It was Yarth, the oldest of the qualified Turks to answer the rookie in a somewhat disapproving tone. He had no idea what the troublesome two had done and yet, knowing them, it couldn't be a good thing. Having reclaimed his breathing rate, Reno crawled over to the other sofa where Moon was lying and leaned against the end of it. The young man stretched his legs out intending any unsuspecting passer-bys to trip over them. Maya frowned slightly as she moved up to the same end as him and placed a hand inside his shirt on the left side of his chest; she could understand why the trainees had thought she and Reno were an item when he didn't mind her doing such a thing. That said, everyone else thought the youth had regained his breath but she knew better; his breath was raspy and forced and she could feel his heart hammering violently against his ribcage.

Knowing what she was doing, Reno looked to Yarth and grinned, deliberately turning the opposite way to Maya's hand, causing her to reclaim it; she needed to stop worrying about him.

"See, now you're making us sound bad, Papa!"

"That doesn't take too much work, huh Red?"

The newbies frowned at the last word Reno spoke to Yarth, but none had time to query the strange nickname as the redheaded individual began to cough violently. The youth gained worried looks from his usual comrades as he almost doubled over, unable to catch his breath between coughs. Maya leaned down and whispered a few words in his ear, but Reno cut her short by shaking his head as the coughing fit finally subsided. Breathing deeply, the Turk leaned his head back against the sofa.

"You sure you're okay? Tseng'll want to know-"

"Maya, I'm fine yo; it's just a cough."

The unusual tone of seriousness heard in his voice told Maya not to say anymore in front of the newbies; they had only just arrived and didn't need spooking out already. After about another thirty seconds of relative hush, small conversations began to surface and soon the noise had risen enough to revive the air of normality and Reno's coughing fit was regarded as a flash in pan by all except the qualified Turks.

As the five newbies sat around and conversed with the older Turks, talk was easy to come by and numerous jokes were thrown about, including one about redheads. Rod wasn't impressed by it, but poor Reno didn't get the punch line at all, causing Keeno to lean down and ruffle his unkempt shock of red. Reno immediately frowned and began striking out as Keeno retracted his hand; he hated it when people done that.

"I ain't a goddamn puppy, yo! Go feel someone else up; what bout little Carla- I see you eying her up, yo!"

Though he meant it as an insult and both Carla and Keeno blushed somewhat, all the Turks laughed. It was clear to see how they treated Red and Moon with some lenience and the woman, Stacia, always seemed to mother them a little.

Yawning deeply, Maya stretched out on her couch and finally disregarded Red's coughing fit, pushing the nagging worry to the back of her mind, whilst calling over to her friend.

"Hey Red, throw me over the paper; I want to see the odds for the Chocobo races at the weekend."

As the lad picked up the paper on the table, Caleb smirked widely and he spoke in a feigned voice whilst mockingly patting his thighs with his hands.

"Good boy Red, now bring it over to her and you get a treat!"

As the blond made to ruffle his bangs of red hair, Reno rolled up the newspaper and began attacking Caleb's shins with a vengeance, not at all happy at being called a canine, even if he knew it was a joke.

"Fuck … off … Sunshine!"

Each word was punctuated with another blow from the newspaper to the blond's shin, and just as he made to take another swing, Tseng walked in the door. All the Turks straightened in their seats and directed their attention towards him, showing their respect; all except for two. Reno was still attacking Caleb with the paper and only Maya's feet were visible, protruding out over the arm of the sofa she was lying on; both of the pair oblivious to who had entered. It could have been President Shinra himself and they still wouldn't have cared. The trainees all expected Tseng to reprimand the crude duo, but the man didn't even bat an eyelid, as the Turks knew he wouldn't; the second-in-command merely carried on with what he had to say.

"There will be preliminary missions held in two weeks-"

"What kind of missions?"

Rob was the on to ask the question, with another trainee butting in and asking the next.

"Will they be judged?"

"Where will they be?"

More and more of the newbies joined in with the questioning until Tseng could barely get a word in edgeways. As the interrogation of their superior continued, Reno turned around to look at Maya, leaning his back against the coffee table. He looked straight up at her, shooting his best friend a meaningful glance and flashing her a cheeky grin; letting her know that he was okay for he knew she'd keep on worrying about the coughing fit. She nodded with half a smirk and, picking at her nails, shouted to the room in an annoyed voice. The trainees should have enough brains to let Tseng explain first, and then ask questions.

"Everyone shut up! Let him tell you what's going on and then ask question one at a time; have some respect!"

The trainees abruptly fell silent at her voice; although it was ironic that Moon should tell others to have respect, her voice rang with an unmistakable authority that shut them all up. Rude blinked as he looked to her; the young woman had just managed to remind them all she was their superior. Although she was a delinquent and not the best-behaved, Moon was still a Turk and she didn't get the job for no reason. Successfully hiding a smirk at the stunned silence, Tseng nodded to Maya and continued on.

"Thank you."

As Tseng started talking again; Reno began twirling a silver necklace round his finger, with an obvious wink up at his friend; it took Maya a second or two before she recognized it as the one that should have been around her neck.

"Hey that's mine!"

Without thinking, Maya leapt from the sofa and onto her friend's prone form. She then began trying to pry the chain from his grasp, but Reno wasn't giving up that easily as Tseng sighed with an exasperated shake of his raven head whilst others cashed-in on the match. A scuffle broke out between the two as they rolled across the carpeted floor with swears filling the common room. It was always the same; Reno and Maya would start a fight and the rest of the Turks would place bets on who would win.

The trainees looked on, unbelieving of what was going on in front of them; how could two qualified Turks just start fighting like that, more so when Maya had just asserted her authority so well. Anything they had learned about being in the Turks whilst in Junon had been turned upside down since coming to Midgar, and it was all due to two specific Turks.

Even Tseng watched tonight's entertainment with a bemused look on his face. The strange parent-like protectiveness was back in his eyes as he looked on at the fighting duo, something that didn't go unnoticed by Carla as she frowned yet again.

"_Oooh_, you evil little fucker!"

Cursing as her head hit the coffee table, Maya pushed her friend as he pinned her down; this set Reno off-balance and, ultimately he was the one pinned down by a smirking Moon, who swiped her necklace from his hand. She then leaned down further, ready to gloat, until her face was about two inches from his.

But she didn't, and he didn't move either. To be honest Maya had never noticed what Mako did to one's eyes. When she'd met Reno six years ago he had green eyes … but now they were blue, with just the faintest line of green circling his pupil and wispy tendrils of the hue stretching out into the Mako dominated iris. She decided that she liked this view.

Why was she such a stickler for that necklace anyway? It was a gift from a guy she had broken up with years ago, but still Maya wore it. She had lots of other jewellery from other guys, including a very expensive Mythril pendant with a Shield materia crafted into it, and yet she chose that plain silver necklace. Maya had had a few boyfriends since they met, but she got bored of them after a while; it was always her to end it and not the guy. Looking up at her from his pinned position on the ground, Reno could clearly see why none of the guys wanted to stop seeing her; his best friend was one good looking young woman. She'd been pretty when they'd met at eleven, but it had been a child's beauty. Adolescence had allowed her prettiness to develop into a more mature beauty, with hazel locks and clashing brown eyes.

A wolf-whistle broke the silence of the common room; the atmosphere becoming slightly awkward. Those Mako eyes with their miniscule green immediately looked away, as did the sparkling hazel ones with her ponytail tracing along his cheek.

"Johnjo, you pervert!"

The Turk Johnjo ducked his head as he was slapped across it by Leeta, the mousy-haired female Maya usually shared her worried looks with. It had been Johnjo to produce the whistle as he had become somewhat uneasy watching the Red and Moon.

Hiding a blush, Maya stood and fastened the silver necklace back around her neck; how he kept getting it she would never know. That had been a weird few seconds; Reno fancied her and she knew it, but she'd never fancied Reno. He was her best friend and _he_ knew that. But couldn't best friends ever … Maya mentally berated herself; they were best friends and it was easier to keep it that way. To move her thoughts away from their current focus, she indicated the necklace and looked to the lanky redhead.

"How d'you keep getting this anyway?"

Red stood and shrugged, not willing to give up the trick just yet. With a pout she pushed him playfully, resulting in the redhead calling her a few choice names, much to entertainment of the watching Turks and trainees.

* * *

It was a long while hour before Tseng left; having answered the majority of the trainees' questions and retiring to his sleeping quarters. Seeing him exiting, Maya followed her boss out into the hallway and closed the common room door behind her; the man was already at the end of the corridor.

"Tseng, can I have a minute?"

With a glance over his shoulder, the future head of the Turks walked back to where the young woman stood and regarded her with a concerned air; his hazel eyes looking somewhat puzzled.

"Is everything alright, Maya?"

"Is … is there any news on the investigation?"

At this, Tseng's shoulders dropped a fraction; he'd been expecting her to ask that in the last couple of day but had been hoping she wouldn't. Shaking his head, the second-in-command couldn't help but feel guilty as he saw the clear disappointment in Maya's eyes. But he couldn't lie when there was still no news or information.

"No, not yet, but I told you not to build up your hopes, Maya; you know we could find nothing at the end of all this. Raising your expectations is only going to bring more disappointment."

The girl nodded her head with one of those forced half-smirks. She only wanted to know what had become of her sister and parents, and maybe a little history and where she actually came from; other than that Maya wasn't looking for a family-reunion of any kind. She was quite happy in the Turks.

"Thanks anyway, Tseng."

With a knowing smirk, Tseng nodded his head and turned to walk back down the corridor and yet he was halted as Maya spoke again, this time with a hint of worry that made him turn around.

"Reno had a bad coughing fit earlier, probably because of running from Scarlet. It sounded hoarse though; I think he might have another bout soon…"

"Keep an eye on him and let me know how he is; don't take any chances, okay?"

The young Turk nodded her head at Tseng's instructions and turned back to the common room door, hearing the noise of her boss's footsteps as he walked in the other direction. The young woman nodded again as she thought of Reno's last bout; another one like that and he mightn't be so lucky. She shook her head to rid it of the sombre thoughts, but they would have to keep a close eye on Red. Sighing, the young Turk walked the few feet to the common room door.

Leeta opened the door from the inside at the same time Maya tried to walk in, resulting in a near-crash. Laughing, Maya stood back and let her colleague pass. Leeta was a few years older than her and had been in the Turks for about six years. She had been like a big sister to her; Tseng was great and all, but not much use when a young girl hit twelve or thirteen and started getting unusual cramps in her stomach for a week once every month. Yeah, Mouse had been a real life-saver in explaining all a girl needed to know, even the old birds and the bees.

As she walked out into the hall, Leeta deliberately closed the door behind her; effectively preventing the young female from entering the common room. A kindly smile was the next move from Mouse, followed by a sing-song voice.

"Oh Maya …"

"W-what?"

The younger Turk answered in an unsure tone; she didn't like it when people used that singing voice when talking. It either meant you were in trouble or about to be mocked in some way.

"You and Red …"

"Yeah?"

"You two had a little moment in there. I saw; we _all _saw it huni."

"We were just fooling around is all."

"Mmmm hmmm, just fooling around huh? You told me that with the last guy aswell, and the one before him. I shall be keeping a very close eye on you two. By the way, Maya; you're blushing."

Noticing that she actually was blushing, Maya took the initiative to open the common room door and escape Leeta's all-knowing smile. The mousy-haired Turk knew everything about everyone in the Turks; apparently Keeno had the hots for newbie Carla, and now the big sister of the force had her sights set on her and Red.

* * *

The common room was empty now, except for Red and the small group of five newbies that had become somewhat of a fixture on the opposite couch. Maya smirked as she noticed Reno had fallen asleep; bless his little soul. He wasn't so much of a trouble-maker when he was sleeping. She leaned over the back of the sofa and watched him for a second or two; why would Leeta think she fancied him? He was Red, and they were friends; nothing more and nothing less.

"So, how long have you two known each other?"

Blinking, Maya remembered the trainees in the room, with all five watching her. Well, four of them were watching for certain, but she could never be sure with the shaded Rude.

"A long time now … maybe six years give or take."

As peaceful as he looked sleeping on the couch, Maya knew she'd have to wake Red in a few minutes; the trainees had an exam in the morning and they'd probably be saddled with paperwork, or an irate Scarlet yet again. The group of newbies watched as Maya gently shook the redhead awake. Carla could see the confusion in Reno's eyes as he was woken, but it was immediately sated as he saw his friend. They should have been a couple in her opinion; the two just seemed so perfect.

"Sorry lovey …"

Maya chuckled as she pulled Reno to his feet, where he stood blinking at Maya with a suspicious yet sleepy look; half-yawning as he queried her.

"Where we goin' Moon?"

"Bed; the rookies have an exam in the morning and Scarlet's gonna kill us when she sees her car."

"Oh yeah … it seemed like a good idea at the time, yo. She's probably gonna bust in here with that old teenager speech fired at Tseng; he's gonna be mad too, yo."

"Yeah well, we'll just have to deal, won't we?"

Kion and Leeron looked at each other as they heard the comment Red passed as he let Maya drag him towards the door. It was Rob to ask the question though; voicing their exact thoughts as he heard the same words spoken by Reno.

"Teenager speech? How old _are_ you guys?"

Reno smirked as he stopped in his tracks, making Maya stop aswell; these newbies were quicker than the rest. The remainder of their regiment had only just found out who the names 'Reno' and 'Maya' actually belonged to that morning. Knowing they would have to answer, Maya turned around and glanced at the group of five; according to the Junon files Leeron was twenty-three, Rude twenty-one, Kion and Rob being twenty-two and Carla being only twenty; all acceptable ages for Turks.

"Take a guess, Carla you like spying, right yo?"

The wink he gave her alerted the Turk-hopeful that Reno had overheard her conversation with Maya earlier that morning. She didn't really know what age to guess; both were young with smooth skin and prominent features. If they'd spent a minimum of three years training at Junon, then time as a trainee before becoming a Turk; even if they'd been recruited to Junon at eighteen or nineteen … that would make them about mid-twenties.

"I don't know really, maybe twenty-four or twenty-five?"

"Not even close, huni."

Maya smirked as she spoke; it was hard to comprehend their ages unless you knew the story of Red and Moon and all the trainees had to learn this tale as yet. Reno smirked a chuckled a little at the prospect of being _that_ old; surely they didn't look the age. Maya on the other hand would love to be that old and not viewed and treated as one of the babies of the Turk force. It seemed odd that the trainees had no idea of their actual ages if the Junon instructors praised them so much; she supposed that Shinra didn't want little kids getting inspiration to join the Turks. Stifling a yawn, the young woman put the rookies out of their misery and announced their ages.

"I was eighteen last month, and Red's four months older than me."

Yet again the group of five were reduced to dumbfounded silence and unbelieving stares; their revered superiors were only mere teenagers, if not even children. Knowing that Maya wanted to go to bed, Reno deliberatly stalled for time as he asked the trainees a question; they were kind of recovering from the shock.

"So, where'd all you peeps come from, huh yo?"

Rude looked towards the mildly interested redhead from behind his shades; for some reason he hoped he didn't become partnered in any way with this annoying kid. From what he'd seen of him, Red was lazy, laid-back and sloppy whilst on duty, not to mention utterly disrespectful. It was Rob to speak first, yet again; it was becoming clear that he was more or less the leader of the small quintet.

"The a-academy in Junon."

"All of you are from there, including the rest in your regiment?"

As the five nodded in response to her question, Maya raised her eyebrows; they had a posh batch this time. Last time around they'd had one or two from the slums but the numbers being recruited from Midgar had been steadily declining lately; Shinra preferred to pull from Gaia's far corners instead.

"Why, there did you guys come from?"

It was Carla speaking this time; she seemed to be a very curious Turk-hopeful. Normally the rookies kept their mouths shut and done what they were told, but this black-haired young woman was something else. Maya answered with a smile as she ruffled her friend's red bangs; an action he had hit Caleb for, and yet allowed Maya to carry out with no consequence.

"Well, redhead is a slums boy born and reared, whilst I grew up in Shinra."

"You grew up in Shinra? But Scarlet called you a slums rat…"

Kion looked to Reno as he said the last two words. He was from Kalm and even that small distance away, children were warned about the kids of the Midgar Slums. As a youngster, his mother had instructed him never to converse with the kids of the Midgar slums; they were below talking to and the wild children were to never be trusted; but Reno and Maya seemed alright to him, despite being a little highly-wired.

"C'mon Moon; give 'em the full story, yo…"

Maya looked to Reno standing beside her and shook her head but trailed off as she saw the silver necklace he was twirling around his finger. Instinctively her hand shot to her neck, already knowing the piece of jewellery wouldn't be there. Confused by how he actually managed to swipe it without her noticing every time, Maya held out her hand, into which the redhead placed the necklace.

"Seriously though Reno, how d'you do that?"

Red shook his head, laughing lightly; that move had taken him years to perfect and there was no way he was giving it away that easily. Moon simply sighed as he shook his head and she then turned back to the five newbies; she might aswell give them the bones of the story or Carla would find out too much on her own.

"I was about two when my parents disappeared and my relatives left me at the doors of the Shinra building with my family information; I had an older sister who was about twenty-three when I was actually born because I was an "accident". She'd left our home years before and had become a Shinra scientist; she worked a lot with that demented cockroach you saw earlier. Unfortunately for me she'd been missing for about five years by the time I was dumped at the doors. President Shinra wanted to leave me out there and Scarlet wanted to give me straight to the Guard Hounds, but Veld objected. Tseng raised me as far back as I can remember, so he's like a dad to me, Veld too. When I was eleven I found a way down to the slums and met Red. We caused loads of trouble down there like break-ins and fights, so much so that we attracted the attention of the Turks and were recruited us at fourteen. Because I spent so much time under the plate, everyone considers me a slums kid."

Reno hid an amused smirk as heard Maya's shortened version of events; she was leaving out loads of key points in his opinion, but knowing her it was for the newbies' own good.

Suddenly the confusion Carla had felt for the last few days; the affection she had seen in Tseng's eyes as he had watched Reno and Maya fighting and causing trouble made perfect sense. The young man was their equivalent of a father. He was the only one the unruly youngsters held some respect for, him and an amount for Veld too.

"C'mon Red; these have their exam in the morning."

With Maya's voice snapping her back to reality, Carla remembered about the exam; it was their last major test in their training. The only thing that remained afterwards would be the preliminary mission.

"I wanna play with my new friends, yo."

"Reno please …"

She grabbed the cuff of his jacket and pulled the crimson-haired Turk towards the door, unsuccessfully stifling a deep yawn. Reno rolled his eyes dramatically as he allowed himself to be dragged to the doorway, gaining a few laughs from the new trainees. Just as Maya dragged him out into the hall, the lad stuck his head back around the doorframe and spoke a few taunting words before Maya yanked him down the corridor.

"Nighty-night, old timers!"

**A/n- Thanks a million for taking the time to read it guys and pleaselet me know what you thought! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	4. Questions

**Author's Note;** Sorry about the wait poeples, the new internet was finally installed this morning and I'm hyper, uploading anything I can- finished this chappie last night; in the first incarnations of "Red & Moon", it was the fourth chapter, but I decided to split this chappie into two, so the res of the fourth chapter will be chappie 5, kay? Let me know anyways peoples!! Kas- out:-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

"Why didn't ya tell them the truth?"

Maya looked up to her friend as he asked this; the two were walking up a corridor, towards the wing of the Shinra building that housed the Turks' apartments, having left the common room about ten minutes ago and taken the long way around so as to avoid possibly running into a still-livid Scarlet.

"I couldn't exactly say you were asked to join cos you got caught in a Mako explosion, could I? The rest was the truth though…I just left out some of the smaller details, that's all…"

"So Hojo experimenting on ya when you were young, is a _small detail_, huh?"

Upon hearing his playfully sarcastic voice, Maya elbowed the lanky teen, a serious look on her face as she stopped walking and spoke in an equally serious tone, locking her hazel irises with the Mako-cerulean of his…making it clear that she meant her words in earnest.

"Reno, don't you dare tell them; those newbies are still getting the hang of this place, they don't need ghost stories freaking them out!"

"Whatever, yo…"

Maya smiled as he yawned lightly and rolled his eyes up to heaven in an exasperated fashion; the lad couldn't remain serious for two minutes! As she reached her door and placed a hand on the handle, the young woman looked over her shoulder and gave her best friend a light wink.

"Night Red."

"Yeah, yeah; if you're lonely, ya know I'm only down the hall…"

"Only if I'm _really_ lonely!"

Reno laughed as his friend winked more prominently before walking into her apartment. He then shook his head with a smirk and walked into his own; its untidiness reflecting his personality- he didn't care about the things strewn all over the carpeted floor; at least he knew where they were!

* * *

"C'mon Red, it's simple; you take twelve from the big number and that gives you the time…"

The young redhead's face was lined with sheer confusion as he took her words onboard; he was really trying hard to get this…but the next morning had brought no explosion of intelligence with it and he merely shook his head with a sigh.

"Trying again, Moon?"

Johnjo asked this as he cast a glance down at the sitting dup whilst walking past the sofa. It was only gone eight the following morning and the common room was just beginning to fill up with nervous trainees who were trying to cram in some crucial information that would aid them with their weapons test that would take place in a while.

"Mmm hmmm…so what time is 19.00 hours?"

Maya turned back to Reno as she asked the latter half of the question, having nodded in response to Johnjo's query…she looked hopefully to her friend; in the six years she had known him, Maya Crescent had been the one to teach Reno the fundamentals of education. Tseng had made a point of ensuring that young Maya had had a valuable academic tutelage by means of arranging Shinra-paid tutors to educate her and the young woman now had an impressive IQ to flaunt about. But when she'd met the then eleven-year-old Reno on the streets below the Plate six years ago, the lad had been an orphan since the age of five and could barely read let alone write…she had taught him the alphabet and how to read simple words, getting the wiry boy to write out sheets upon sheets of the twenty-six letter alphabet until the pre-teen had memorized it…and then had come the writing letters; to this day, Reno's signature and handwriting was noticeably scratchy but at least the young man was capable of writing…though it was a common fact between their own crew that the redhead was a little slower than others and yet he made up for it in his street-wise knowledge as he possessed secrets and rumours of the Slums in abundance; but if anyone attempted to insult her friend's intellect, Maya would see to it that the person was hurt, and by her own hands; nobody insulted Reno except her, and she never ridiculed him for not being as bright as others and all the other Turks knew that she wouldn't condone it.

"Ehhh…"

He made movements with his fingers, as if he were mentally trying to count off the hours…this caused Johnjo to take pity as a few more of the trainees entered and cast a curious glance over to the telltale duo on their usual sofa by the coffee table in the center of the large room.

"Fuck Red, don't hurt your head; it's seven o'clock!"

Johnjo half-laughed as Reno looked up at him and gave half a wink in an attempt to lighten the humour; he knew he was overly intelligent and yet couldn't thank his friend enough for giving him what education he did have; if it wasn't for Maya, he'd still be illiterate.

"But what happens when the numbers are below twelve, huh yo?"

"That just means it's AM and you don't subtract the twelve; the number you see is the time it is, that's all."

The older Turk answered the youth and then ruffled Red's hair before walking away, avoiding a wallop of the newspaper as the teenager made a lunge for it; he hated people doing that…the only person he actually condoned it from was Maya and she only carried out the action once every so often.

"What are you doing anyway?"

Rob looked up from a theory book about Martial Arts, his curiosity having gained the better of him as he memorized a few stances and manoeuvres. Maya smiled and yawned before lowering her digital watch back onto the coffee table, having been using it to teach her friend…she stretched lightly before answering…but it was made obvious by her nonchalant voice that her words were not to ones to be used as puns for jokes.

"Trying to teach Red how to read a twenty-four hour clock…again."

"_Oooh_! I'm never gonna remember this!"

The two were interrupted as Carla exclaimed with frustration, practically throwing her _Firearms Theological_ down onto the coffee table with more than just a slight vengeance, her features exhibiting her obvious desperate exasperation as she eyed the heft book with murderous intent.

"What's wrong?"

Keeno ignored Red's wolf-whistle as he asked the attractive young trainee the question; between guys, they all knew the tall Turk had a _thing_ for the new trainee and Red was getting bored of not telling the young woman; if Keeno didn't ask her out soon, then Reno would definitely do it for him and that was for certain! As she picked up the book again and quoted from it, Carla's cheeks became enlightened with a slight blush.

"I can't remember the Reload, Shoot & Target for the gun theory; we have our weapon's exam this morning, and I can't get this one thing into my brain!"

"Jeez, calm down a bit, and we'll help ya, 'kay?"

When Carla's grey eyes looked at him with an inquisitive air, Reno glanced over his shoulder and located his gun-slinging friend; he'd never had to remember any of that shit for guns, as he didn't use them, but Moon was an expert with her two automatic handguns and top of the record boards for the target shooting…come to think of it, she'd even beaten that other Turk who had previously held the record…some guy called Valentine…Vincent Valentine; she had beat him by a good bit too and had requested a match-up with the guy, but apparently Veld had known the man and told her he'd been missing from Shinra since about five years previous to her being dumped at the doors as a two-year-old toddler.

"Hey Maya, what was that thing you used, yo?"

The apparently eighteen-year-old tore her gaze away from the large television, where MTV was blaring and looked over to him, confusion evident on her face as she hadn't been paying any attention to their conversation and now found herself none the wiser about his words.

"What thing?"

"For ya gun theory; the RTS thing."

"Umm, oh yeah…Reno Talks Shit."

"That's it, yo!"

When the newbies looked to her with obvious shock at the apparent insult, Maya explained herself quickly with a slight laugh as she only now realized her own words and what they had insinuated…though her grin merely grew wider as she looked to the new faces now trained on her.

"I'm not being smart, or mean, but it works; Reload, Target & Shoot, then swap it for Reno Talks Shit…they're both R.T.S; it helps to remember cos it's true."

"It does actually! Sorry Reno…"

Carla looked guilty to be unintentionally insulting the Turk, but he merely shrugged his shoulder and commenced trying to steal the television remote from Maya, who had returned to flicking through the music channels and rapping her buddy hard on the knuckles with the remote every time he tried to take it.

"_Oww_! N'yah, what ya gonna do; everybody insults me, yo…"

He snatched his hand back as Moon made hit him again, causing her to hit the soft cushion of the sofa and highlight his unrivaled agility as he stuck his tongue out in retaliation for the near-hit; his knuckles were already red from where she'd hit him a few seconds ago…once bitten, twice shy.

* * *

The room full of Turks and anxious trainees looked around to the door of their common room as high heels were heard click clacking their way up the corridor outside, instigating memories of their first night when that noise had been first heard heading for the same door. The noise was fast, as though the walker were in a rush to get to the door, possibly enraged at somebody inside. Reno and Maya looked sideways at each other, flashing identical smirks and heaving heavy sighs before the both stood; neither of them making any attempt to tidy their uniforms; Reno, with his open jacket, un-tucked and half-open shirt, Maya stood with her tight pants, muddy stains across the thighs, open jacket and shirt neck open so much as it dipped close to her bust line

The door then slapped open with intimidating force, causing everyone except the youngest of the Turks to jump. Scarlet lived up to her name as her face had taken on the colour. No Tseng was present as he'd probably just received a tongue-lashing from the blond already… The enraged woman pointed an accusing finger in the direction of the youngest Turks…her voice riddled with a mixture of rage and loathe.

"You two!"

As Reno smirked proudly, Maya looked behind her in a shocked fashion, as though the person whom Scarlet was pointing to stood behind her, then the teen spoke in a serene and believably innocent voice whilst shooting her most convincing puppy-dog eyes at the woman.

"Whatever's the matter, Scarlet?"

This only served to make the blond even angrier as the teen mocked her so believably…the attention of the entire room was on her, but eight separate cars was a bit much for her patience to withstand and this little bitch was skating on thin ice as it was.

"You and dipshit egged my car!"

At this, Maya's sharp tongue came into play, as did her protective nature over her friend; nobody called Reno a dipshit…not even she did that and this blondie bimbo was certainly not condoned to do as such- _no one_ insulted her friend like that!

"Don't call him dipshit, you stuck-up bitch!"

"I have enough of you Crescent, and I will ensure you end up back in Hojo's lab; at least some good might come of you!"

"Well why don't you go down to him, or is it the _plastic_ surgery you prefer, blondie?"

"You'll be back in the test tube you belong, girl!"

"As long as you're back in the mould you came from, I'll be satisfied, Barbie!"

As Scarlet's face deepened in hue, it was clear to hear the exchanging of words taking on a personal tone, causing Kion to turn and whisper low to Rude, though it was Rob to answer his query as the young man saw the two females edging closer to one another, anger livid in their eyes; he glanced around, hoping to see Tseng or Veld coming to break things up, but to no avail as all the trainees looked on with apprehension at the seething two.

"Should we go?"

"I'm not getting caught in _that_ crossfire!"

As the girl's insinuation hit her in full, Scarlet drew up to her full height and looked down her nose at the Slums rat, her eyes belying all of the contempt and hate she harboured for this particular Turk delinquent.

"You insolent little bitch!"

"Crabby old whore!"

_Slap_!

A gasp of shock and then a curse from Reno as he just about managed to grab hold of his friend, dragging her back a foot or two as her cheek was set alight by the livid red imprint of Scarlet's hand…the superior stood her ground and eyed the teenage duo wit distaste as Reno kept a grip to his friend's arms as the girl struggled to be free, anger burning at actually being struck by the blond.

"Let me go, Reno! I'm gonna kill her- let me go, Red!"

As he backed up another foot or so, Reno cast a glance over his shoulder to where Keeno was standing by the coffee table, ready to intervene, and yet the lad's cerulean gaze shot to the table where Moon had laid down her two handguns and where Carla had been running though the assembly of her own.

"All guns and firearms out of reach, yo!"

As the bystanders all made a grab for their weapons, Maya stomped down on her friend's toe in an attempt to get to the blond who had just slapped her across the face and still the redhead refused to let go of her arms as he knew he wouldn't be able to catch her again.

"Reno, I'm going to kill her and then I'm gonna beat the crap out of you if you don't let me go!"

As the young man pulled her away and began to forcefully drag Maya to the other side of the room, away from Scarlet, the head of the Weapons Development realized she wasn't in any danger and used the moment to let loose the comment that had just formulated in her mind as she watched that redheaded lad pulling the girl back.

"Such a pity your sister isn't around to teach you some manners…then again, with a little rat like you, I'm not surprised she disappeared!"

Maya stopped dead in her tracks, angry tears springing to her eyes automatically; that was a nerve nobody hit, for the good of their own health… Even Reno couldn't move quickly enough; Maya had managed to disengage herself from his grasp and had shot forward, grabbing a handful of Scarlet's bleach-blond locks. The superior reacted by snapping her elbow backwards; hitting the Turk in the face with it…a few foul curses emanated from the young female Turk as the high heels were put to good use, as were Maya's trademark kicks, both girls grabbing at the other's hair. As the catfight grew more intense, Tseng and Yarth attempted to break it up, the fore having only entered the common room to be affronted with this sight. Indirect blows from the seething females met their attempts. Maya kicked at Scarlet as the woman's long nails scratched deeply across her face. The two had firm holds to each other's hair when Veld burst in, having heard the screaming female voices a few corridors away. Tseng managed to grab Scarlet as his superior tried to disengage their youngest Turk from the fight.

"Maya! Maya, let her go!"

As Scarlet lost her grip on her opponent's hair for a second, due to Tseng's intervention, Veld grabbed Maya's waist and swung her away from the head of the Weapons Development, making sure he stood between the two as the head of the Turks knew both would draw blood from the other if at all possible. As she attempted to fix her unsettled blond locks, Scarlet spoke in a cold and derogative voice.

"Where's Professor Crescent when she's needed?"

Maya immediately made to step forward and advance at an angered pace, totally intent on hitting the superior again, but she was stopped as Veld caught her and pulled his charge back with authoritative force, making it clear he was not a fan of a second brawl.

"Maya, sit down!"

She stared up at him for a second, all kinds of emotions and contempt vying for attention in her hazel irises and then the girl angrily sat down on the sofa, breathing heavily. Scarlet gathered herself as best as she could and stood in a dignified posture, ready to address the topic for which she had stormed in for.

"Veld, your delinquent little Slum Rats have ruined my car…again."

The head of the Turk Department turned around, his bored sigh only audible to Maya as she smirked slightly upon seeing the aged man rolling his eyes up to the heavens above and yet he remained cool and collected as he challenged the accusation against his two subordinates, knowing exactly how to get the duo off the hook.

"Did you look at the garage CCTV footage of last night?"

"Yes, bu-"

"Did you see either Reno or Maya in the garages?"

"You know the cameras can't catch them; they're much too fast with their Ma-"

"That settles it Scarlet; there is no proof to suggest that any of my Turks had anything to do with the desecration of your car except your word, and as we have witnessed, your word would be heavily biased against my department."

As she spluttered, at a loss for something to say, Veld turned his attention to the room in general and eyed a few of the older Turks, all of which nodded and began chaperoning the newbies together near the door, their attention having previously been wholly on the confrontation, but knowing they still had a job to do as Veld issued his orders loud and clear, deliberately ignoring the still incredulous and fuming Scarlet…though his voice was obviously laced with well-controlled anger.

"All trainees to Exam Hall C, Turks have the day off, except for Yarth and Keeno; you two are supervising the exam."

Keeno, the six-foot, black-haired Turk stood, as did the aged man known as Yarth, who then spoke in his kindly voice, trying to break the thick tension that had fallen upon the common room, successfully gaining the attention of the Rookies.

"Right, c'mon newbies; let's go, no use in being late for this."

As movement began to return to the previously frozen scene, Scarlet strutted out of the room with Maya eying her hatefully all the way to the door. The two Turks and about twenty newbies followed the angered woman, a safe distance behind, as they were a bit shy of the female's infamous temper. As they all filed out, it was obvious to see that the newbies had begun to down-size; about five had dropped out since transferring down and the Junon scouts had sent down the last exam scores, upon looking at them, the lowest-scoring five had been sent back to re-initiate their training all over again.

"What was that about?"

Maya looked up as Veld asked the question in a clearly serious voice, with maybe even a possible edge of anger present aswell; she was sitting on the sofa he had confined her to and brushing her knotted hair…Scarlet had pulled out a lot of strands, but thankfully not enough to cause a bald patch, though by looking at the blond ones on the floor, she could only guess with great pride that Barbie's head was in agony…and then, like the teen she was, Maya's cheeks flushed red and she answered with what even she knew was a pathetic and childish defensiveness to her voice.

"She shouldn't have brought my sister into it!"

"No, she shouldn't have, but you should have acted like the Turk you are, not the teenager!"

"I don't need a lecture right now!"

"And I don't need a little child on my team, Maya, I need a Turk! Grow up and leave the playground fighting to real children; you gave up all rights to adolescence when you joined our ranks and it's about time you realized that!"

Her cheeks only burned a brighter red as Veld stormed from the room, obviously angered at her…and yet the girl didn't think she deserved to be humiliated like that in front of her colleagues; she'd always viewed Veld as something equivalent as a second father to her, but over these last couple of weeks before the stress-inducing arrival of the newbies, he'd begun to distance himself from her and was now frequently angry for no apparent reason; and it hurt her as she'd built an absolute trust on her two bosses; it felt like betrayal…as he disappeared out the door Maya exhaled a steadying sigh, and raised an antiseptic wipe to the four scratch marks across her right cheek, cringing as the deep gouges stung intensely. Stacia was rooting though the Turks' extensive first-aid kit; over the years, with both Reno and Maya in their group, the Turks had had to expand their medical kits, now it contained everything from bandages to IV drips; all Turks were trained to the highest standard of medical treatment as a compulsory part of their core training in Junon. Tseng raised an ice pack to his throbbing temple, where he'd received an unmerciful blow, whilst trying to pry the fighting females apart with Yarth.

"Did I hit you?"

Maya looked up guiltily at her father figure, a slightly impish smirk on her face. Tseng half-smiled as he sat down on the opposite sofa, and answered her question, lying so as to not embarrass the teenager anymore than his superior just had; Maya wasn't the only one noticing the difference in Veld's behaviour; he seemed colder towards her and not even Tseng knew why that was.

"No, Scarlet did…"

* * *

As she had exited the hall, Carla had spotted Maya being practically shouted at by Veld, and had hastily turned a deaf ear, not willing to intrude. She turned to the handsome Turk called Keeno, wanting to find out more about the girl whom she had fast befriended; something told the Cosmo Canyon native that there were a lot of secrets yet to be told within these labyrinthine corridors of the Shinra building. What had Scarlet attempted to say before Veld had cut her off? It had sounded suspiciously like the word _Mako_…

"Keeno, what did Scarlet mean when she said Reno and Maya were too fast for the cameras?"

At the sound of her voice, the piercing green eyes looked downwards at her, Keeno smiled slightly at the new girl as he noticed how she had picked up on the word Veld had prevented the voicing of, knowing himself exactly wat the blond had intended to say…but yet it was to remain unvoiced as such until Red or Moon decided to tell any of their new buddies.

"Carla, isn't it?"

"Mmm hmmm…"

"Listen to me when I say this; you're new and there are some things Moon and Red haven't told you yet, if they do at all…they're good kids and probably don't want you messed up in some of their business, kay?"

She nodded, silently contemplating his words for a few seconds and decided to drop the topic, not sure she wanted to know why the secrets hadn't yet been told, instead she indicated Yarth via a simple nod of her head…trying to hush the vivid blush that had creeped into her cheeks upon looking into the emerald eyes of the older Turk.

"Are you two partners?"

"Yeah, you'll be given partners soon enough, once your exams and mission are over, either with one of us or one of your regiment."

She nodded as he spoke, her eyes taking in more of his appearance; Keeno was tall, well built, toned and muscular…most likely due to years of training; she'd heard the other Turks referring to him as _Katana_ every now and then, but had yet to learn of the origins of the odd nickname…then a thought struck.

"Are Reno and Maya partners?"

"Gaia no! Are you kidding me? It's hard enough to get those teens to work as it is, they'd kill each other is they were on the same team!"

Carla couldn't help but to laugh at his comical reaction, whilst Yarth glanced back over his shoulder, a small, almost fatherly smile adorning his features as he saw the two younger individuals enjoying each other's company; so Reno had been telling the truth whilst guessing who the newest couple would be in the halls of the Department of Administrative Research…As the hall drew into view, Keeno looked down at the young woman again, knowing Red would beat him stupid if he didn't ask soon…either that or the lad would ask Carla himself and that was something he could really do without.

"Carla, you fancy going out sometime?"

A brief pause in which the blush deepened momentarily on her cheeks, but then her quiet, soft voice was heard to be answering his query in an answer the young man had been hoping for since Moon had introduced her comrades to her newest pals; trust Maya and Reno to be the first to assimilate with the newbies.

"Sure…"

Then the ever-feared examiner walked past and Leeron, Rob and Kion's faces all dropped as they saw the thickness of the booklets which they had to answer; a five hour exam suddenly didn't seem time long enough to answer the tomes…resulting in Keeno and Yarth to smirk momentarily for they could well remember their own exams- a nightmare come true, especially when one considered that the bad-tempered examiner was the one who had been present all those years ago; the old man just seemed to be around forever and always seemed to succeed in striking the fear of Minerva into all the cocky little new rookies.

**a/n- I know it was still a bit long ppls, but just imagine the length if I hadn't cut the chapter into two, lol!! Anyways, let me know what ye think my peeps!! Kas- out:-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	5. About Time

**Author's Note;** Sorry bout the waitwith this ppls- was busy with other stuff and just got round to rewriting this chapter- chappie six begins the new chapters that haven't been rewritten so please bear with me and let me know what you think huns! Kas:-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

"Get him away from me, now!"

All heads in the common room turned as they heard Moon's angered voice emanating from the hallway outside. It was evening now and the lengthy exam had finished about an hour ago; all the trainees were subsequently half-asleep in armchairs, having been up until the unmerciful hours of the morning trying to cram the smallest bit of extra knowledge into their heads. The qualified Turks surveyed them with amused and reminiscint looks; remembering when they'd been like that, many a year ago at this stage. Anyone that was on his or her pleasant way to the land of Nod was abruptly woken at the sound of Maya's voice. The door then swung wide and in she stormed, shouting back over her shoulder, at someone following her.

"You fucking asshole!"

It was then that Red could be heard, half-laughing, and half-shouting as he attempted to reply to her rather insulting comment…but the youth only just managed to do so as he continued to laugh uncontrollably with no control whatsoever.

"C'mon yo, it was an accident!"

"Fuck you!"

"I'm sorry, Maya!"

The redhead then stumbled through the door and into view, tears of laughter in his eyes; a young SOLDIER, who was laughing just as hard, followed him. Moon frowned and spitefully pushed the teen with black, spikey hair and Mako-enhanced violet eyes as she was now in a pissed off mood.

"Zack, you cunt!"

Tseng walked in, having heard the mixture of shouting, laughing and cursing, fearing a repeat of this morning's events and not at all too keen on trying to break up another catfight; one was more than enough for today…his head was still throbbing from the blow he'd received earlier…almost reluctantly, the second-in-command ventured as to enquire about the racket.

"What's the problem?"

"Look at my hair!"

With that indignant comment, Maya pulled down the go-go supporting her hair, which had bound her hazel locks in a rough bun that had masked the length of the tresses as they fell loose and framed her elegant face.

"Oh…it is a bit shorter…"

"_A bit_?"

Whereas her hair had once reached to her waist, about a foot-and-a-half was missing; the locks only now reaching to the middle of her shoulders.

"What happened?"

Tseng glanced at a laughing Zack with a measure of suspicion, which the teen returned wholeheartedly via a few stifled laughs; Zack knew he would seem the culprit and maybe it had to do with his happy-go-lucky nature, but for once he wasn't the cause of this. Maya tied back up her newly shortened tresses and answered her superior's question whilst glaring at Reno.

"Shit-For-Brains and me were sparring and the idiot sliced my ponytail off!"

"Hey, it was an accident yo! An' I didn't slice it _all_ off…"

Reno trailed off as an intimidating 1st Class stood in the doorway, flexing his white wings with impatience as he scanned the trio of youths for his own troublesome charge; the teen was supposed to be running through some last minute drills before his next mission.

"Zack Fair!"

"I'm coming, Angeal…see ya Baldy!"

Zack cringed as he saw his mentor looking down at him rather sternly and dodged a punch from the enraged female Turk and began laughing again as he remembered watching the training mishap in the sparring hall. As Tseng stood between his two youngest Turks, the male of the duo gave half a wink, trying to change to awkward topic as he saw all the trainees pretty much falling back asleep again.

"Where's Carla, yo?"

Reno looked around for the black-haired girl; Moon wasn't talking to him and he was mildly interested as to whether that RTS thing had come up or not; anything better than becoming Maya's newest punching bag…or shooting target.. Rob looked up, grinning as he answered the Turk's question.

"Out on a date with _Keeno_…"

* * *

It was almost twelve that night and the common room was packed; even Tseng and Veld wandered in for a cuppa, before disappearing off to do whatever superior stuff they had to do. Then Keeno had walked in with a dressed-up Carla, the two having been out on the town for the night…resulting in quite the reaction from her buddies and a certain redheaded senior Turk.

"Lovebirds in da house, yo!"

Upon hearing this remark, Maya looked up from where she was sitting with Leeta and a few of the others, including Rod, Stacia and Johnjo, running through the Chocobo odds for the weekend; she had a knack for picking the winners…a knack that most of the Turks usually cashed-in on, aswell as the SOLDIERs from time to time…

"Ehhh…_Believe I Can Fly_ seems promising…"

As Rod pointed to the name and spoke in an optimistic tone, Moon looked back at the paper and shook her head of newly shortened hazel tresses upon noticing which bird her friend was inquiring about.

"They switched trainers last month and she's been lame on one leg since…try _KFC Style_, he's young and from good stock…"

As the room was filled with whoops, whistles and claps, lead of course by Red, Maya sighed and looked at the two in question; Keeno and Carla made a good couple, by looking at them anyway and she was happy the new girl from Cosmo Canyon was assimilating easily with the older Turks, but it was obvious to see the dark crimson blush creeping upon her cheeks. She frowned as everyone continued to cheer and shout wise cracks at the couple, resulting in the youngest of the Turks to lean back, take a breath and shut her comrades up with one shout.

"Alright! Whoop-dee-do; give them a break and Red, you better shut your trap, boy!"

The reaction was instantaneous, with everyone paying heed to the already pissed off young woman. Carla then made her way over to Maya, Keeno kissing her lightly on the cheek as she walked away. The room-full of eyes turned their attention to Red, expecting an outburst at this loving gesture, or even a smart comment of some kind, but he held his tongue, trying to get back into his friend's good books. After another little while, he dared to call tentatively across the room.

"Hey Moon, any tips for the races, yo?"

"Not for you, Red!"

Carla smirked as she heard this nonchalant comment being thrown back at the lanky young man; Leeta had filled her in on the hair incident of earlier that evening, and right now it was rather evident to see that Reno was still in the bad books with his friend….

* * *

"So…Carla, huh yo?"

Keeno surveyed the ever inquisitive Red; trying to figure out if the rambunctious teen was gearing up for a slagging match or not, as he inquired as to the younger Turk recruit. With a raised black eyebrow, the tall young man spoke with a cautious air to his voice.

"What of it?"

Caleb, the blond Turk laughed at the guarded tone and decided it high time to have a say in this conversation, all the Turks having been informed earlier that day by Tseng and Veld that there would be a rather high-profile formal held the night before the scheduled fighting…a prospect that seemed rather daunting as all the Shinra superiors would be there, along with the President himself.

"At least he has a date for that formal next month, unlike some people!"

At the sound of this supposed-to-be swipe at him, Red flashed his cheeky, trademark grin and winked almost arrogantly at his friends, almost as if he knew more than he was letting on, but Reno was a tough person to figure out at the best of times.

"Ahh, but that's where ya wrong…I do have a date, yo!"

"Who?"

Most of the male Turks looked around as they realized who had spoken; it was that trainee, Rude. For some reason, he seemed able to utter more words when in the presence of the wild redhead. Red smirked all the wider, took a breath and called across the room to his grudge holding partner-in-crime.

"Hey Maya!"

"What?"

She sat on the arm of an armchair, her back to him, still reading through the numerous odds listed on the paper as she responded in a deliberately icy voice, her answer being laced with purposeful coldness as she idly turned a page, feigning absolute interest in the paper.

"Wanna go to the formal with me?"

"No."

As she said this impassively, there was an uneasy silence in which nobody laughed or even breathed; they just directed their gazes to Reno, awaiting his reaction…comically like the watchers of a tennis match, wanting to know which side would give out first.

"Okay…why not, yo?"

"Cos I've never even been out on a date with you; I know nothing about you…_stranger_…"

She spoke the last word with a smile creeping across her elegant features. Reno merely grinned a he heard this remark for he could tell she was smiling. All heads, once again, turned from Maya to Reno, awaiting his rebuttal tot his comment…wanting to know what the ultimate outcome would be.

"Fair enough…wanna go on a date then, yo?"

Maya shrugged her shoulders in a not-bothered way, not even looking round at him as she yawned and answered in a light tone, almost as though he'd just asked her if she wanted something from the refrigerator.

"Okay."

"What bout now, yo?"

At this, Moon stood, turning round to face him at last and nodded her head with a slight smirk. As he too stood, Reno couldn't help but to shoot Rude an _I-told-you-so_ look and winked again with a flash of his arrogant grin. As the two walked out, Reno draped an arm around Maya, and the room could hear him asking her a question in a curious voice.

"So, am I forgiven for the hair thing, yo?"

"N'yah…we'll see, Red."

The doors then slid closed and the stunned common room fell into a silence, which was broken by the blond Turk named Caleb, who'd witnessed the duo progress through the Turks as friends for the past couple of years, always knowing they'd end up more- they were just too like each other…almost as though two halves to the one personality.

"About time those two got together!"

His statement was met by adamant agreement from all the Turks, who'd bore witness to the friendship of their youngest members over the past number of years within the labyrinthine halls of the Shinra building.

* * *

As Veld and Tseng walked around a corner, they spotted two individuals at the other end of the hall, locking tongues. The head of the Turks merely turned a blind eye, as did his apprentice; the people of Shinra didn't really give a damn about in-company relationships, as long as the people worked and did their jobs; whatever hey did off the clock was their own problem. If Tseng hadn't caught the flash of vivid red in the corner of his eye, he wouldn't have turned and realized who the intertwined couple were. Veld also looked around as Tseng did. His aged face displayed what seemed to be slight surprise upon noticing who the couple actually were.

"Is that…?"

Tseng nodded his answer as his superior trailed off into a somewhat shocked silence.

"Yes…"

Veld smirked as Maya ran her hands through Reno's telltale locks and he pulled her closer, kissing intensely and placing his hands on her hips; both were too preoccupied with the other to notice the presence of their bosses at the other side of the long enough corridor. The two men then began their walking again, away from the young Turks both knew as the youngest of the force. Veld was the first to break the uneasy silence and speak as they walked.

"I hope she knows what she's getting into…"

Tseng laughed as he heard this remark, knowing that Maya was just as troublesome as Reno when she wanted to be…she was just that little bit better at escaping the consequences than the Slums-boy she had befriended when still only a child.

"I hope _he_ knows!"

"They're good kids, despite some aspects, and you done a great job raising them both."

Tseng nodded gratefully in retaliation to this question; appreciating the comment for not a lot of people knew that he had raised Maya from the age of about two upwards and when a wounded Maya had dragged fourteen-year-old Reno into the Turk Department, it had been him who had cared for the unconscious Slums boy. It had taken a whole five days for the wiry adolescent to come round. During that period, Maya had explained everything; she'd been sneaking out every night for over three years now and making her way down off the plate and into the Slums. One night, during her first year of espionage, she had been walking aimlessly around and had met Reno; an eleven-year-old orphan with the most vividly-coloured hair and a walking attitude problem. He had shown her round the Slums by night, the two had fast become firm friends and managed to strike themselves up quite the reputation in the Slums.

Then one night, when they were fourteen, the unruly team had followed some Shinra scientists to a crowded area of the Slums. The scientists had high-tailed it by the time Maya realized what was going on; the small, minute package they had left behind was one of the new, experimental condensed-Mako bombs Shinra was developing for the war against Wutai. The young teens had tried desperately to evacuate the area, but the people of the Midgar Slums were mistrusting, even of two of their own, as Maya was now considered aswell.

Reno had noticed a slight glow emanating from the package and had pushed Maya over to some adults, who had grabbed the girl and ran. The red-haired boy tried his best to find a way to dis-arm the bomb, but…Reno was about a foot away when the thing exploded. Maya had broken from a man's grasp and rounded the corner of the long street when the Mako-bomb blew. Though she sustained serious enough injuries, Maya Crescent woke to find her friend of three years unconscious and barely breathing; she had somehow managed to drag him all the way up onto the plate and into the Turks' Department of the Shinra building, knowing Tseng would help. It had been the better of a week before Reno had come to. Upon waking, Tseng had enquired if the boy had sustained some class of brain damage, as he was quite hyperactive and a bit dense at times. Maya had shaken her head with a smirk; Reno had always been wild and had some character, though his heavy exposure to Mako did leave him with inhuman speed, healing abilities and an intense, telltale Mako-gleam set his blue eyes alight.

_Yes_

Thought Tseng; it was definitely about time those two got together…about time.

**A/n- what you think of this chappie huns? Will Reno and Maya last? Kas:-) XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	6. The Next Morning

**Author's Note;** Hey huns sorry about the wait in updating- but school's out now and I'm back into wiritn gear...can't believe I've been on this site a year now, lol! Anyways, I hpe you all enjoy this chapter- like I said, this is te beginning of the new chapters that haven't been rewritten, but I will tell you that this is only maybe a third of the original chapter from the sheets I have written...the real chapters are way too long, so I'll split them up in maneagable and readable sizes, lol!! XxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

"Should I take it that's Scarlet's car?"

Carla chuckled lightly as she asked this of Keeno as the two made their way inside the Shinra building via the underground garage, the couple heading for the common room that acted as a home to countless Turks. It was still early enough, only about half-eight and the morning sun that fought to shine through the polluted air stood testament to this, as did the chill of the early air, causing the young Turk Rookie to shiver lightly and the tall young man to drape an arm around her shoulders; that was best thing about in-company relationships- having to spend all day in close proximities and knowing the other mightn't come back from his or her next mission, these reasons caused the relationship to move fast and solidify into something serious at a rapid pace.

Keeno cast his green eyes upon the automobile in question and hid a smirk- Reno and Maya had really pulled a number on the expensive red Lexus; it was now covered in a repulsive eggy residue that was starting to stench…this was only out shadowed by the deep, desecrating scratches that invaded the luscious paintwork of the car.

"Yep, that's hers alright…surprised she didn't get this one detailed…again."

"_Again_?"

Carla allowed herself a laugh as she said this, whilst they made it to the cylindrical glass elevator that would transport them up countless floors to their sanctioned floor number amidst the seventy separate worlds to this skyscraper. Keeno nodded his dark head, smiling as he recounted the troublesome duo's previous accomplishments; viewing the two as his equivalent to a younger brother and sister…he'd had three older brothers once…all had made it to the Turks, but died on missions and that was his greatest fear- to get this far and fall as his siblings had…but still, with Reno and Maya on his team, it was hard to feel that fear…they were gifted Turks, when they chose to be.

"They did it to her last seven cars so bad that Scarlet had to buy a new one each time…then they took one for a joyride and wrote it off in the Slums in a crash…they already attacked this one before you guys arrived, but she managed to clean it…but it looks like a new car might be on the company's expense list again this time round…Veld's gonna be mad at them, and Tseng aswell."

"Then why do they do it?"

"Cos they can get away with it- they're still just kids when you think about it, I mean everyone sees a couple of laid-back Turks who are good at their jobs when the need arises, but the two are still only teens aswell…and Scarlet's never liked Reno from day one, and she's always despised Maya, as you might have already noticed."

With another laugh, Carla nodded her short tresses and revelled in the feel of the tall young man's arms around her as the elevator continued its assent up towards the taller floors of the monolithic building. She'd dared to get back in contact with her parents last night, hoping they'd be grateful to hear from her for the first time in almost three years…the plan had backfired when her mother had answered the phone, heard her voice and slammed the receiver back down on her daughter. Carla had never felt so lonely and sat crying until a knock had come on her apartment door and Keeno had stood there…he'd comforted her and he'd been there; her friends had always sufficed but this was different; this was someone actually caring about you as more than a friend…she didn't know how they had ended up together- Keeno had mentioned something about Red threatening him to ask her out- but if that was so, then she was eternally grateful to Reno as she peacefully nestled closer to the qualified Turk's chest, savouring the view the glass elevator offered of the Floating City…

* * *

Maya woke to find toned arms around her frame and had to force her brain to think back over the previous night, not knowing where she was or she had even ended up in this room…all she knew was that this definitely wasn't her apartment. It was only as she saw her uniform on the ground and felt the chill on her bare skin, pulling the duvet up to cover her naked frame, that the young woman's mind was triggered end the memories returned in an enthralling rush, replaying before her eyes as she recalled why the glass now lay shattered on the wooden ground…they'd banged against the table on the way in…

With a slightly malicious smirk enlightening her elegant features, she sat up a bit more…maybe things had gone a bit further than the simple date initially intended; the hickies that peppered her neck seemed to stand a striking testament to this reckoning at that moment in time. Then her Mako-hazel eyes fell upon the alarm clock in Reno's room…slightly surprised he had one; she'd remember to catch him about it later…why was she hammering on his apartment door every morning in order to wake him when the lazy Slums-boy had an alarm? Nontheless, Maya noticed that it was now almost nine o'clock in the morning and even though it was a Saturday and there was little to be done until the exam results came in for the newbies, all Turks were still expected to show up for work. With a groan of reluctance, the seventeen-year-old rubbed with sleep from her stinging eyes…happily noticing that the noise and movement served in causing a particular redhead to stir from his own sleep and crack open his glowing cerulean eyes.

"Good morning…"

With a smirk, Maya leaned down as she said the greeting and kissed him lightly, Reno returning the kiss and wrapping his arms around her waist as he did so; the youth had absolutely no intention of going to work when he'd finally managed to get Maya to himself…after six years of being best buddies…With a grin playing on her lips, she broke the kiss, laughing down at him.

"C'mon Red, let's see who we can piss off today…"

"I'm all for that, yo!"

Maya stood from the bed, now fully-awake, as was Reno, with the duo commencing a treasure hunt for their absent clothing, it having been idly discarded during the excitement of the previous night, not thinking about how they planned on finding it again the next morning…

"Ah c'mon, there's still mud all over them!"

Maya held up her uniform pants as she said this, showing off the muddy stains across their thighs, compliments of a certain redheaded Turk using her as a footstool in the common room a few nights previous. Reno grinned maliciously as he cast a gaze at the pair of pants, a smart comment already falling as he located and donned his boxer shorts.

"That ain't mud, yo…"

"Eeeew!"

"I'm only kidding with ya, Moon!"

He ducked, laughing as she threw the pants at him with deliberate force. It was another couple of minutes of fruitless hunting, coupled with joking, before the majority of their clothes resurfaced from their hiding places of the previous steamy night. Still keeping a watchful eyes on the time, Maya threw her hands up in the air with frustration.

"I give up- where's my shirt?"

Reno cast a glance at the girl he'd spent last night with, then around his apartment in search f her white shirt…he then checked under numerous furniture items but still no shirt showed itself or poked out from behind anything…he knew things were bad when even he was keeping tabs on the time, knowing Veld to not be in the best humour these days and not wanting to get Tseng into anymore trouble; he had enough to deal with the newbies, he didn't need them late every single time either.

"Oh Minerva…here, just take one of mine, yo…"

"It'll be too big; look!"

Maya pouted in a childlike fashion as she illustrated just how much smaller she was than he, by leaving the last few buttons of the clean shirt open and tying them in a belly-top fashion, showing off the sparkling belly-button piercing that had become common knowledge last night… Reno smirked as he saw the piercing, a few memories flashing across his mind as he recollected becoming rather familiar with that piercing…and then placed his hands on Maya's shoulders, steering her towards the door as she pulled her jacket on, the young man shaking his head with amusement as he spoke in her ear.

"N'yah, it might be a bit big, but it's a pity all the chicks in the Turks don't wear their shirts like that, yo…"

As the young couple emerged into the hallway it was evident to see something had definitely changed between them; whereas Reno and Maya had always been extremely close for friends, as she now listened to his one of the earphones from his i-pod and the other n Reno's ear, as was the usual norm with them, Maya was nestling closer than she ever had with the wiry redhead wrapping an arm around her waist.

* * *

They entered the common room to many a bemused look- they'd exited enemies last night, yet entered as something more than friends, all their gang could see that the two little kids weren't so little anymore…the babies of the force were growing up. Tseng smirked as he saw the two entering and began to speak in foreign words that nobody else could understand, save for one singular Turk as a result of him raising her and teaching her the dying language- thanks to that attribute, Maya's mind automatically translated the Wutain in a matter of seconds, understanding it exactly as she did English.

"_Have fun last night_, _did we_? _Word has it Reno spent the night in your room_…"

Maya laughed lightly as she walked on, drawing odd looks from all the young male newbies as they eyes her makeshift belly-top…she was delighted with Reno's arm around her- still nestled noticeably close to him and elated in the feel of his muscles moving beneath the uniform, against her own body, the scent of him was a comfort to her suddenly more than it ever was…maybe she'd always felt this way about him…but hadn't thought the street-wise kid was all too interested; he'd always seemed like he was joking whenever suggesting they should get together…but it was only now that Maya realized that _had_ been his way of being serious…for six years she'd overlooked him actually wanting to give them as a couple a go, but she wouldn't throw this chance away.

Reno stopped walking and grinned sheepishly at his father-figure; the man who had literally saved his life all those years ago…he young man stood behind Maya, his arms around her waist, grinning even more as he saw all the eyes of the little newbies on his friend…only she was more than that now…the eyes were on his _girlfriend_. Maya spoke in an offended tone as she looked at Tseng.

"D'you take me for a complete whore?"

After a few seconds of edgy silence, in which many of the observing Turks wondered if she actually was genuinely offended by the second-in-command's words…until the teenager flashed one of her trademark smirks and winked as she finished speaking.

"You taught me better than that- I spent the night in his!"

Tseng shook his head with an amused smirk as the room filled with laughs and cheers, mostly from the older Turks who had been watching and waiting for six whole years, anticipating this day when their two youngest would become more than just friends. The ambiance of the Turks' common room was abruptly shattered as the door opened quite suddenly and the President himself stuck his head in, cigar in mouth and double chin set wobbling as he shouted a rough bark.

"Tseng, out here!"

**A/n- Well, what did you guys think? Let me know huns and I promise not to make you wait as long with the next chapter!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	7. An Arrival

**Autho's Note:** Hey guys!! A spark of recent interest in this fic made me get off my arse and start typing on it again, so I really hope you like this chapter and sorry to leave you hanging for so long!! XxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

The large room full of Turks immediately fell silent as their leader was summoned away by the very head of this whole conglomerate empire. Never before had the President lowered himself to this floor - he stuck to the sixty-ninth and seventieth floors at all times. Stacia was the first of the experienced Turks to stand from her seat on one of the sofas, tactfully sliding into her role as a maternal and respected figure amidst the assassins.

"JJ and Sunshine, round the rookies up; they're having a theory drill in hall C. Katana and Red pull out last week's mission files and run-through them. All other Turks start on paperwork."

The reaction was instantaneous as the people in their telltale black suits immediately carried out the orders given by the one they knew as _Amber_ in their codenamed lives. Rookies were herded up and filed out the same door Tseng had exited. The surfaces of the coffee tables, worktops and boxes were cleared for use of makeshift tables, with each Turk setting to work on the backdraught of paperwork that had accumulated since the arrival of the newbies. With a frown creasing her brow, Maya chewed on the top of her black pen; looking around for the one they called Katana.

"Hey Keeno, y'know that guy Carla hangs around with, Rude?"

"Which one is that?"

She looked back down to the young man's profile picture; she was processing his files. How was she supposed to describe this guy? Tall, bald and -

"He's Robocop, yo."

"Oh right, what about him?"

Leeta let lose a laugh as she heard Reno's helping voice interjecting. He had a certain way with words; she supposed it compensated for his lack of talent in the paperwork department. Round about three months ago Veld and Tseng had prohibited the redhead from doing _any_ paperwork; it had been too time-consuming trying to find the youth's files and missing pages, let alone attempt to read his poor excuse for handwriting. All in all, it worked out much quicker if Reno sat back and watched his makeshift family do it instead.

Standing up from her improvised table (an upturned ammunition box) and sitting position on the hard floor, the teenager walked over to where Keeno was seated enviously on one of the armchairs. With a sigh, she sat on the arm and held out the profile page for her colleague to have a look.

"Look, says here he's a Monk class fighter, but knows how to handle long-range artillery weapons. The Department examined him in the Martial Arts side and he passed with flying colours, but is there any way we could register him in the system as bi-categorical?"

After a minute or so spent flicking through the rookie's profile and recent examination results, cross-referencing with a few other sheets he had, Keeno shifted slightly in the armchair and handed the profile back to Maya.

"He seems adept enough to be registered as both, but just run it by Tseng and Veld before submitting to the IT guys, kay?"

"Yup, thanks."

This was how it normally went, up until the arrival of the rookies; time whiled away processing various mission logs and reports, or prepping for an assassination of some sort. There were nine of them in this family; this indiscriminate family from all corners of Gaia.

* * *

It was another while later before the door opened and in walked Tseng, casting his gaze around the room, eyes as cool as ever. Locating the person he wanted, the young second-in-command nodded in her direction, sitting on the floor looking up at him.

"Maya, come with me."

"Ummm, sure."

Standing up, the young woman placed the file she was working on haphazardly on the ammunition box/table and stood, heading for door of the common room, grabbing an apple on the way. What could she say? Breakfast had been over looked that morning, that and Reno didn't really possess any food in his apartment. Halfway out the door, the sound of chesty coughing reached her ears and the Turk threw a poignant look back at the redhead.

"So what's the deal with the President coming down to our floor, huh?"

"You'll find out soon enough, was that Reno coughing?"

"Mmmm hmmm; it's a bit worse than last time."

Silence ensued for a few minutes, broken only by the sound of their feet on the tiled floor of the corridor. Tseng was thinking and Maya knew better than to interrupt the man's train of thought, despite hating silence. So, after what seemed a lengthy eternity, the pony-tailed leader spoke, much to the young Turk's gratitude.

"Just keep an eye on him - there's sure to be another bout soon, but hopefully it won't be too bad."

The eighteen-year-old nodded as they finally stopped walking, stopping outside one of the offices on the Turk's floor. Recognising the door, Maya immediately recognised it as Veld's office; this was serious if she was being brought here, but only one thought formed in her mind.

"Please tell me the President isn't in there, he really freaks me ou-"

"No, he's not; you can relax."

The amused laugh that Tseng let loose as he opened the door in front of her merely caused Maya to shoot him evil eyes. It wasn't her fault that the President scared her … well, not so much scared the youth, as made her feel extremely uneasy and out of place. Veld stood form his desk as the two entered and made gesture to a young woman sitting on one of the seats.

"Cissnei, this is Maya Crescent. Maya, this is Cissnei; she will be your charge."

"My what?"

"From here on in, you are exempt from the training of the rookies; you will be focusing on this Turk."

Again, the Commander of the Turks indicated the young woman sitting on the chair, this time the individual standing up and facing Tseng and Moon. Maya ran her gaze up and down this _young woman_, discovering her to be little more than a child. Long, wavy auburn hair and brown eyes that clashed with it.

"How old are you?"

The eyes locked with hers in a look of determination, but the voice that spoke was undermining in its softness and youth.

"Fifteen."

Tseng knew what was coming, as did Veld, who cut across Maya's startled look, preventing her from talking by merely glancing her way, and nodded his head towards the door of his office.

"Tseng, if you would wait outside with Cissnei."

A nod from the second-in-command and the two had disappeared from the office that had just metaphorically become a battlefield. The Turk held her tongue until Veld had walked the whole way around the confining room and settled before his desk, leaning back against it and folding his arms in an intimidating fashion.

"What, Maya?"

"Fifteen, Veld … _fifteen_; she's a child for Minerva's sake!"

"Need I remind you that you were a year younger when you joined our ranks?"

The sharp tone with which Veld spoke gave away his rising temper. She was a subordinate and had just called his actions into question. Nobody did that, not even Tseng. Still not happy with this new Turk girl she'd been assigned with, Maya continued on with her vendetta, not aware of how loud her voice had risen.

"But that's different! I've lived with the Turks my whole life; I know no different. What about that girl's family?"

"She has none; raised in a Slum orphanage and scouted. Nobody left, alone, every family member dead. She's another you."

The breath she drew to fire back a snappy retort was frozen in her throat as the girl realized what Veld had just said. With a wounded look, she locked gazes with him and lightly shook her head, not believing his words; it should be Tseng to tell her such things, not him.

"There's no proof to say-"

"The investigation was closed today, Maya; Lucrecia Crescent is labelled as deceased, now leave."

What the hell was it with his attitude? Two months ago and Veld was as much a father to her as Tseng, but now he just pushed her away all the time and got angry for no reason. Well, not no reason to be truthful, but he'd never been so short-tempered with her before. Knowing herself to be in trouble as it was, the teenager caught a glimpse of the picture Veld kept on his desk; a small girl with his hazel hair and eyes. She was tomboyish looking and smirking nonchalantly at the camera whilst held in her father's arms.

"If she were alive, would you let Felicia join the Turks at fifteen?"

"Get out now, Maya!"

This time she needed no second-telling. Exiting rapidly from the office, Maya blinked a few times and slammed the door behind her, not at all satisfied with the loud noise it produced.

"Maya?"

"Just don't even go there, Tseng … what's the deal?"

She folded her arms and nodded to the rather shy girl standing beside Tseng. She was petite built, but her age most likely played a role in that. The second-in-command began walking back towards the Turk common room, the two females following as he answered Maya's question.

"Cissnei is a fully-qualified Turk; she passed all her exams and her field mission with flying colours. You will be showing her the ropes around here until she's assigned a partner. We're a bit pushed on quarters at the moment, what with all the rookies, so I was hoping …"

Smirking as his voice trailed off suggestively and one ebony eye brow raised, Maya nodded in response to Tseng's unvoiced question, chuckling slightly.

"Sure, I have an extra room in my apartment. Does she have any clothes?"

"Her suitcase is already at your apartment. I'll speak to you later, I have a few things to sort out concerning the rookie missions."

Maya nodded as Tseng branched off down another corridor and she continued towards the common room, new girl in tow, a few steps behind. After only a minute or so, the silence became too much for the hyper teen and she looked over her shoulder at the youngster.

"So, you want to be in the Turks, huh?"

"I've passed all my tests with high scores and I assure you I'm ready-"

"Whoa, whoa kid; a yes or no would've been fine. I'm not here to interview you; just to look out for you, okay? Now, we're gonna be in here for the rest of the day and I'm gonna show you the basics of processing rookie files. Ignore all the boys except the older guy; that's Yarth. But most important of all, relax!"

The uncertainty in the girl's nod made Maya pity her slightly as she pushed open the common room door and heard a customary "_yo_" coming from across the room. This Cissnei girl had a lot to learn here,a dn Veld wasn't going to be much help by the looks of things.

**A/n- Thanks for taking the time to read my fic guys and I really hope you liked this chappie, so thanks again!! XxxxxxxxxxX**


	8. Trouble

**Author's Note:** Hi there guys; I'm so sorry for the huge wait in uploading!!! See, I'm just finished school and I have major end of year exams. That said, thanks a million for the support with this fic!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

"Maya, most people come back with paperwork or a mission; not another newbie …"

Keeno was the one talking as she walked back into the common room, Cissnei in tow. In a matter of seconds, the rest of the Turks had looked around to take note of the new person aswell. Maya smiled as she walked forward; trust Katana to be the first to ask about the new girl, and with that, the rest of the Turks had looked towards the door and watched with curiosity. As conditioned and professional as the kid had claimed to be, Cissnei shrank ever so slightly with all the gazes pinned on her. Placing a light hand on the younger girl's shoulder, Maya looked to the black-haired Turk sitting in the armchair.

"She's not a newbie, Katana; she's a qualified Turk. Everyone meet Cissnei; she'll be my charge for the next few weeks while you guys deal with the rookies."

A few envious stares answered Maya's news, along with greetings for the new girl, customary of Leeta and Stacia, as the boys stared, each one taking in the new Turk's young appearance. Sure, they were used to getting an odd youth in, what with Reno, Maya and Rod amongst their suited folds, but this girl was noticeably younger that the norm …

Scanning the heads, Maya took notice of Johnjo and Caleb having returned from herding the rookies to the training hall … but there was one head missing from the line-up; she could've sworn to have heard a "yo" when opening the door.

"Where's Reno?"

At the mention of the name, Cissnei blinked; an action that didn't go unnoticed. No doubt the girl had heard of Reno during Turk training; he held an impressive amount of the records down in Junon, along with Maya. A noise from the locked door on the other side of the room soon revealed where the redhead had disappeared to; the bathroom.

"Who's your new friend, yo?"

"Name's Cissnei, and she's my excuse to escape the newbies, huni!"

With a smile, Maya walked over to her upturned ammunition box, where Rude's profile remained open, just as she had left it. Like a shadow, the younger teen immediately followed without even a word, gaining bemused looks from the older Turks. All new members to the department were the same when they first arrived; they'd be clueless for about a week before finally tuning into the true nature of the assassins.

Whilst glancing up at Cissnei, Maya caught the look being sent her way by Leeta; Reno had been in the toilet for a reason and she knew exactly why, just how to confront him about it was the problem.

"Jeez kid, sit and relax; it's your first day, yo!"

A small squeak seemed to escape Cissnei as the lanky redhead pulled her backwards by the shoulders, straight onto the sofa between Leeta and Caleb; where there was a comfortable seat available, a Turk normally jumped for it, but the girl just looked _so _awkward standing behind Maya. A chuckle ran through the older Turks as Moon glanced up, smiling at the lost look on the new girl's face.

"Listen huni; I'm not gonna show you everything in one day, so just pick it up as you go along and take it easy for today, okay?"

An unsure nod of her wavy brunette tresses was the only answer, followed by and scout of the nine older faces with her amber irises. Taking the hint as the youngster glanced around, Stacia smiled in her motherly way, shifting slightly in her armchair.

"Cissnei, I'm Stacia, the girl you're shadowing is Maya, the redhead who just showed you to the sofa is Reno, the other is Rod. Beside you are Leeta and Caleb, then Johnjo on the floor, Keeno in the armchair and Yarth over by the fridge. You can learn nicknames later on, sweetie."

"O-Okay …"

"Reno, will you bring these up to Veld, please?"

With a pleading smile, Maya looked to the standing Reno and held out her completed reports; he wasn't one bit impressed with the idea and immediately sported a disgusted look.

"You were just up there, why can't you?"

"Oh, please Reno; I'm not going back up there and you're already standing. Rod, you'll go with him, won't you?"

The other redhead immediately shook his head, but soon changed it to a nod upon seeing Moon's threatening stare; she wanted Reno out of the room for a reason, and he wasn't objecting; that girl could be scary when she got mad. With a sigh, the two boys took the files, taking note of Rude's; great, now they'd have to report to the IT guys afterwards to categorise Robocop as both a Monk and long-range artillery user. The smile Moon was now wearing suggested she had completely intended to avoid the trip to the computer guys. Muttering under his breath, Rod headed for the door, handing half the pile of reports to Reno, who followed a few steps behind, having seen it fit to bend down and kiss Maya on the cheek … this whole couple thing between them would take some time to get used to; the Turks had only just gotten accustomed to Keeno and Carla.

"C'mon lover-boy!"

As soon as the door to the common room had clicked shut, Maya returned her gaze to Leeta, banishing the slight blush from her cheeks; he'd caught her unawares with that peck.

"Why was he in there?"

The eighteen-year-old nodded her head towards the bathroom door, ignoring the unknowing look that crossed Cissnei's face; it was a good thing all the rookies were gone. None of them had any clue about the real workings of the Turks just yet, sure they might know all that was expected of them and the tasks to be carried out by their department, but they didn't know the ins and outs of the assassins' everyday lives here … they would soon enough though.

"He started coughing again, bad this time. Didn't look like he'd get his breath back and Rod was already half-way to the door to find you or Tseng, but Reno shook his head and went for the bathroom instead …"

Chewing a nail, Maya cast her brown eyes to the carpeted floor for a few seconds, trying to think of what to do next; she'd already told Tseng, which meant Veld probably knew; they'd keep it between themselves so as not to attract Hojo. She could go to the medics on the SOLDIER floor, but Reno would hate her for going behind his back, and he definitely wouldn't go to a doctor on his own …

"Oh, I don't know what to do …"

"What about getting him to some fresh air?"

With a smirk, the teen looked to Caleb, the blond Turk, half-laughing as she did so.

"Sunshine … I'd have to go to another continent to find fresh air on this planet!"

That one earned a small laugh from Cissnei, despite her being in the dark about the whole topic of this conversation.

* * *

"There are other Turks besides us aswell, but they're currently stationed across Gaia while we hold down the fort here. The rookies done their last test today; they'll have to go through a preliminary mission before making the cut though."

While she explained the department's structure Maya looked over her shoulder, pushing open her apartment door and walking inside. Cissnei was at her heels, but the young Turk's attention was totally focused on the interior of the standard Turk apartment; it was more spacious than she'd expected, with the kitchen in the corner, a loving room area adjoining, a bathroom and two large bedrooms, the bigger having an en-suite bathroom aswell.

Despite the cons of the job, including all the dirty work like assassinations, under-cover work, beatings, SOLDIER recruiting amongst others, Shinra paid it's Turks extremely well, and the standards of their living quarters stood testament to such.

It took a while to get one of these apartments though; when one enters the Turks as a rookie, they are squashed into cramped sleeping quarters, holding four to eight people. A new Turk is issued two uniforms and is expected to keep them immaculate, though that rule had become lax with the more experienced of the department. After a few years in the force, the rookie would gradually move up to the more comfortable apartments; until that time they were the equivalent of a tin of sardines.

Smiling at the thought, the eighteen-year-old showed the new girl to the spare room, where Tseng had already arranged for her stuff to be dropped off; though it didn't look like the child had all that much to call her own.

"Do you have any other clothes besides the uniform?"

Maya had been watching Cissnei unpack her travel case, already knowing the answer to her own question as she folded her arms across her chest, watching as only black trousers, blazers, ties and white shirts emerged. The confused look on the younger teen's face was enough to make Maya walk over and help with the unpacking, talking as she did so.

"Cissnei, you're gonna have days off you know, which means you'll need other stuff to wear besides the uniform … and we have got to get you different shoes; have you tried walking around in these all day? It doesn't work huni; they'll kill your feet, trust me …"

With a disgusted look on her face and a slight laugh from Cissnei, Moon grabbed the two pairs of cumbersome black shoes that were issued to female Turks; the things were chunky and had no heel, meaning they were just plain and flat, and a real nightmare for one to walk around in all day long. Cissnei looked to be about the same shoe size as her, if not Maya reckoned Leeta or Carla would had a pair to donate; anything was better than the standard ones.

Grabbing one of Cissnei's shirts, Maya folded it and opened up the moderate wardrobe behind them, wondering if Reno even had one in his apartment; the redhead only seemed to possess wrinkled shirts, as though he had nowhere to store them but the floor.

"How do you find the Turks so far, are we what you expected?"

Maya took up another shirt as she questioned the youngster, noticing the brunette shaking her head, looking a bit unsure what to say, but the older girl knew what she was thinking.

"We're a bit laid-back right now because of the newbies; you should enjoy it while it lasts … it does get a lot more hectic, especially when the other Turks stationed outside Midgar are recalled."

Nodding her head, Cissnei picked up one of her trousers, running through all she had learned today; thankfully Maya hadn't overloaded her with too much information on her first day and the common room had been entertaining. They had left before the two redheads had returned; Maya had mentioned something about returning later on, which she hoped they would.

"You're a long-range fighter, huh?"

The older Turk was looking at the large crimson shuriken the youth had just laid on the bed; it was a formidable-looking weapon to say in the least. With a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, Cissnei nodded her head.

"Mmm hmmm, it's called Rekka."

"I'm jealous … I could never use those things; I ended up with two handguns instead."

Maya raised her eyebrows as she turned around towards the wardrobe yet again; if the kid was proficient with a shuriken at her age, then she'd be a blinder in a few years time; that much was for sure. Though to name your weapon was to show real dedication to it. With a smile, Moon remembered the names given to her two handguns by a certain redhead when they'd first been signed up for the Turks; based on her initial aim with them, Reno had dubbed the right one "_Crap_" and the left one "_Crappier_". That memory earned a low laugh from the young woman.

Cissnei looked sideways at the older Turk as she heard the laugh … she liked Maya; the girl wasn't that much older than her and she was welcoming. The other Turks seemed friendly aswell; Stacia, Keeno, Yarth, Leeta, Johnjo, Caleb and the two redheads; Reno and Rod … she could remember that much, but Cissnei dreaded having to remember nicknames aswell, as Stacia had mentioned earlier. Then there was Tseng, and their commander; Veld …

"He sort of scares me, the commander …"

Maya blinked as she heard this; that was the longest sentence she'd heard the kid speak since her arrival a few hours ago. Another second and the elder girl was laughing lightly; she could completely understand why Cissnei felt intimidated by their commander.

"Veld? Yeah, he's a scary dude when he wants to be. If he freaks you out so much then take my advice and report to Tseng. Just remember something; Veld would protect his Turks at all costs, so we're not loyal to Shinra, we're loyal to our commander, okay? If that's the only thing you learn today then it'll be enough."

The fifteen-year-old nodded yet again and took the last blazer from the suitcase, allowing for Maya to kick it under the double-bed, completely out of view.

"Maya, can I take some milk?"

Only as she heard Leeta's voice did Maya remember she'd left the front door wide open, then again such a thing was normal amongst the Turks; their department had a habit of 'borrowing' from each other as chance needed. It was only called borrowing if the person happened to notice you taking the food or drink though … other than that it was a free meal ticket.

"Yeah, work away, Leeta."

"Thanks!"

A few more seconds and she heard the door of her apartment click shut, and walked back out the room, with Cissnei following as diligently as ever

"There's food in the fridge and cupboards, so just help yourself, and if we run out of anything, then just go down the hall three doors and get it from Reno's apartment. If he isn't there, then either break in or try another door; it's only the qualified Turks on the this side of the floor. Oh, here …so you won't have to break in here."

Sounding as though she'd almost forgotten, Maya produced a small set of keys, which jangled as she managed to disconnect one from the centre ring and handed it to her; the key to the apartment door, though most Turks could easily pick the locks anyways.

The older girl had turned her back to her when Cissnei looked back up; she was rummaging around for something or other in the cupboard; things were stacked rather haphazardly in there by the looks of it and Maya was muttering under her breath, cursing the redhead called Reno; apparently he was to blame for the mess.

"Maya, c-can I ask something?"

"Go for it, sweetie."

Her back was still to her, though Maya managed to make a pretty impressive catch of two falling jars and a tin of beans, saving all three before they hit the hard tiled floor.

"Are you and Reno … well, y'know …"

At the sound of the girl trailing off, Maya caught one more tin and placed it on the sideboard before turning around to see Cissnei staring at the ground, cheeks a bit coloured. The older girl smiled as she leaned back against the counter and folded her arms again; that was a hard question.

"We've been best friends for six years, and were still that up until last night … so yeah, we kinda are together now, huni."

Even as she said it, Maya noticed how strange it seemed; to be friends for that amount of time, and yet she was quite happy with the strangeness of them as a couple; the rest of the Turks had just been waiting for them to get together. From what Leeta had told her, Johnjo, Caleb and Keeno had had a bet running; Caleb managed to win five-hundred gil by all accounts. But her lovely new boyfriend was in for a wake-up call whenever she saw him next; it was his fault she couldn't find anything in her cupboard … Reno just dumped her with all the extra stuff he had and also saw it fit to pick her lock and take what he wanted, further messing up the shelves.

"Just to save you asking later on; Keeno is with one of the newbies, Carla."

Cissnei smiled as she saw the wink Maya sent her way before turning back around and battling the over-packed shelves of the cupboard … unfortunately, Moon wasn't quite quick enough to catch the next jar to seemingly jump; spaghetti sauce, everywhere … white shirt; white no more.

"Whoa, who got murdered in here, yo?"

The Mako-blue eyes were looking to the red colour on the tiles and the cupboards and the wall _and _the fridge … and everywhere else really. Upon hearing the familiar speech pattern, Maya immediately looked towards the door, where he had just managed to soundlessly pick the lock.

"Who got murdered? No one yet, but you're top of my hit-list, Red!"

The redhead grinned as he looked to the cupboard and winked at the new Turk-girl, trying to hide a cough as he did so. Raising a hand to his mouth, Reno leaned against the doorframe, watching as Maya kneeled down, trying to clean the shattered jar from the floor; she was going to get him back for that sooner or later; note to self not to open his own cupboard for at least a week. More coughing; maybe he should've let Rod call Tseng earlier … great, now Maya was starting to stand-up, looking his way and undoubtedly headed towards him aswell. The teenage Turk let out a groan as another bout of coughing hit him, why was his view of the apartment suddenly cast sideways?

"Reno!"

Her splattered kitchen area was immediately forgotten as Maya fought to get across the room as fast as she could and out into the hall where the redhead had just collapsed.

"Cissnei, go across the hall and knock on the door, now!"

Almost jumping at the sound of an order, Cissnei did exactly what she was told, finding herself to be battering on the wooden door; she didn't even know what was going on. A few seconds passed, with no one answering. What was happening? Hearing Maya beginning to panic behind her, Cissnei began kicking the door with force until it was answered by the Turk she had come to know as Leeta.

"Cissnei?"

"M-Maya told me to get y-"

"Mouse, he's getting another bout!"

The older Turk immediately by-passed Cissnei, running to where Maya was kneeling over Reno's limp frame; he was still coughing, albeit a lot chestier.

"I'll get Tseng; Cissnei stay with Maya!"

In a second, Leeta was gone, sprinting back towards the common room.

**A/n- Well, please let me know what you thought guys and thanks a million for taking the time to read my fic!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**


	9. Kunsel

**Author's Note:** Hi guys! Sorry for the really long wait, but I had a really bad spell of writer's block on everything. My twin sis kept nagging me to update this, so I did, lol!!! Again, sorry for the wait and I really hope you like it!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

* * *

Leeta seemed to be gone for the duration of length. Somewhere amidst the minutes since her colleague's panicked departure, Maya had slid her hand beneath Reno's neck, cradling his head on her lap and rocking back and forth gently. Where was Tseng? Normally he would have been there in a matter of seconds; he already knew that Reno had been coughing recently.

As though reading her thoughts, another fit of coughing racked the slender body of the redhead; painful sounding coughs that died almost as soon as they had arrived. His breath was raspy and sounded as though it were struggling; this bout was worse than the last few. Five months; that's how long Reno had been free of his own blood.

"Maya …"

The brunette blinked as she heard the uncertain voice; she'd forgotten Cissnei was standing in the hall behind her, watching. Glancing over her shoulder, the older Turk noticed just how young the fifteen-year-old actually looked with her confused amber eyes. Maya flashed a smile that brimmed with a confidence she wished to feel.

"It's okay Cissnei …"

Her voice trailed off as footsteps rushed up the hallway from both sides; a blur of white advanced from the elevator at one end as a contrasting barrage of black suits rushed from the other.

Medics, with the SOLDIER emblem on the breast of their white coats surrounded her kneeling frame. A rush of people and Reno was lifted from his friend's cradling embrace. A drip here and an IV tube there; the SOLDIER medics were well-used to the redheaded Turk being on their patient list.

Strong, unknown arms seemed to half-lift, half-drag her from her kneeling position as more and more newbies reached the hallway, wanting to know what was going on. Keeno and Yarth were soon on damage-control, chaperoning them back away from the medics.

"Maya, stand up …"

The arms became more forceful, pulling the young Turk to her feet as the still-unknown frame behind her started walking, pushing her ahead of him with long, purposeful strides. She recognised the voice, but it wasn't the person Leeta had run to find.

"W-where's Tseng?"

"He's on an urgent assignment to Banora with SOLDIER."

Maybe it was because of their little shouting match not all that long ago, but Maya didn't exactly feel at ease with Veld frog-marching her towards the elevators. She looked back towards where Yarth and Keeno were still directing the newbies, only to see a rather confused-looking Cissnei.

"Cissnei, stay with Leeta!"

Obviously Veld had seen her too and took the initiative to command the lost girl before the elevator doors closed. The door of the left elevator slid shut, cutting off her view of the medics. They'd head down to the forty-ninth floor in order to use SOLDIER's medical wing.

The confused banter of the Turk-hopefuls was abruptly silenced as Veld steered her into the right-side elevator and the doors slid shut. More seconds of silence as her commander pressed the appropriate floor button and the leaned against the wall with his arms folded.

The quiet of the enclosed space seemed to exceed the elevator's confines as the silence rang loudly. It was now that Maya began to regret her spiteful words concerning Veld's deceased daughter. It had seemed a tactful question at the time, but she knew her commander didn't like anyone mentioning his little girl, or his part in her death.

"I'm sorry, sir. I was out of place in your office."

A curt nod was her only answer as Veld remained standing against the wall. A slight shift of the floor indicated that they had reached the forty-ninth floor of the Shinra building; the SOLDIER floor. This floor, the next one and fifty-first floor all belonged to the SOLDIER department of Shinra; three whole floors compared the Turks' singular level. It seemed to be a superfluous sign of their funding.

Despite the bitter feelings between the two departments concerning funding, Veld had recently come to an agreement with the SOLDIER Director, Lazard; Turks were now permitted use of the holographic training rooms granted that no SOLDIERs were using them. That's where she and Reno had been when he'd accidentally given her a hair cut. The doors opened and the two Turks stepped out onto the busy floor.

The sensation of someone walking into her left side jolted Maya back to her senses; the SOLDIER floor was in complete disarray. People ran in every direction, all with purpose in their haste; medics passed with bloodied sheets and vital potions.

What had happened?

"_Genesis defected from us and took most of our 3__rd__ Classes and over half our 2nds with him_."

Zack's words rang in her mind; had Genesis caused this? Veld's arms pushed her forward yet again. The man seemed completely unfazed by the panic around him; no doubt he'd already spoken with Lazard about the situation. That would explain why Tseng was on assignment with a SOLDIER.

A doctor seemed to materialise before the two suited individuals as Maya continued to take in the pandemonium that consumed the SOLDIER floor. Another push at her back, and Veld had her walking after the doctor. She thought that the white-coated man had spoken to her commander, but the brunette had been too preoccupied with watching the people flit by to hear his words.

Two familiar faces stood outside the medical ward of the SOLDIER floor; one a male and the other female. Veld halted for a few seconds and curtly issued orders to the two returned Turks; they were to stand guard and alert him if Hojo was in the vicinity. So that was why Keigo and Gun had been recalled from Junon. The two immediately nodded and stood on either side of the doorway.

The medical ward was the fullest she'd ever seen it, with almost all beds occupied by battle-weary individuals in need of something more than a Cure. One of the younger doctors approached them; the same doctor that had treated Reno in the past.

"We've stabilised him now Veld, but the poisoning was considerably more advanced than the last time. Odds are it'll get a lot worse before it gets better."

The young doctor, Josh, had been 'recruited' from Mideel due to his expertise in treating Mako poisoning; a trait that was coveted by the Shinra Electric Power Company. When Veld raised a questioning eyebrow, the young man continued his talking, eyes flitting through the medical files in his hands; most likely Reno's.

"Reno, despite being one of your best, is still a teenage boy. At his age, hormones are at their heightened peak along with various chemicals in his body's composition. With all this, it's more than likely that his red-blood cell count will decrease as the Mako infested cells will feed off of hormones. In a nutshell, we were able to stabilise this bout of poisoning, but if it gets much worse … odds are there will be very little I can do for him."

The commander's eyes didn't give away any worry he might have been feeling as he registered the doctor's words, a sharp contrast to the worry that immediately pierced Maya's. As the brown-haired teenager walked up to her friend's form lying in the hospital bed, Veld walked towards the door, indicating for Josh to follow him, which the young man did.

"Was there something else, Veld?"

"Is there anything Reno can do to prevent the poisoning becoming worse in future?"

Taking a few seconds to run through the youngster's medical history file in his hand, the Mideel-native took note of a few points and nodded his head of dark brown.

"For one, he could quit his smoking; it's hardly doing a boy his age any favours in the long-run. If he quit, it would be less pressure on his lungs. Can I ask what triggered this bout?"

"He's been coughing for a few days now, but it was most probably running from Scarlet the day before yesterday and breaking up a fight between her and Maya yesterday morning."

"There was a fight between Scarlet and Maya?"

One look at the young doctor's somewhat shocked face made Veld shake his head and let loose a long, tired sigh as he ran a hand through his dark hair.

"Don't even ask, Josh."

Another sigh as the doctor walked off to deal with his many other patients; the SOLDIER medical ward was almost full to capacity for once. Gun and Keigo stood outside the ward, guarding like suited sentinels following their orders just as Turks were supposed to. Not one word had been spoken back to him by the pair when he recalled them from Junon and explained their newest mission of guarding one of their own, just nods. Why couldn't his two best Turks take a leaf from their colleagues?

His temper had gotten the better of him earlier. Maya had had no right to speak such words, but he should have just quietly dismissed her from the office, not shouted as he had. It was true that Cissnei was very young to be recruited, but she was a talent that the Turks couldn't afford to overlook. Looking over to the limp form of Reno lying motionless with numerous drips attached to him, the bereaved father's gaze softened. Why couldn't that boy stay out of trouble for once in his life and think of his health?

Four years had done nothing to bring equilibrium to the youth's blood-Mako ratio. Being caught in that Mako explosion had wrought serious internal problems on the boy. His red blood cells were now at war with Mako-infested cells; he could go anything from weeks to months without any trouble, but when the Mako cells began to outnumber his ordinary blood cells, the redhead contracted severe Mako poisoning from his own blood.

Judging from the look on the young doctor's face, Veld reckoned he would be needed her for a while as Reno underwent a blood transfusion yet again. They needed to get his red blood cell count back up higher than the Mako cells, and he just happened to have the same blood type as the teenager. The only other person with the same blood type as the redhead was the President's son, Rufus, and Veld doubted the heir would be too keen on helping out a dispensable Turk.

As a familiar figure of blonde and red strode into the medical ward, most likely to check on the damaged weapons of the injured SOLDIERs, Veld strode over to Maya; the last thing he needed was another cat fight to break up.

"Maya, go for a walk and I'll call you when she leaves."

A confused air clouded the youngster's eyes for a few seconds before she noticed who had just entered the ward. Muscles stiffened as her eyes hardened; it was Scarlet's fault that Reno was in this state! A firm shake of her arm and hazel eyes were looking at her with a stern plea. Sighing, Maya headed for the door of the ward, trying to drown out the sound of the blonde's telltale laugh.

* * *

"Yeah, I'll tell her. Just get back in one piece!"

A laugh on the other end of the line as Zack agreed to the terms of the agreement and then hung up. Kunsel frowned as he heard the unmistakable sound of explosions in the background; just what was his friend doing in Banora?

This side of the SOLDIER floor wasn't half as busy as over by the medical wing, and one of the guys had mentioned that a Turk was now occupying one of the beds. Why exactly one of the assassins would need a SOLDIER doctor, he didn't know, but it must have been serious; SOLDIER's head doctor specialised in treating Mako poisoning.

Almost as though responding to his thoughts, the young man caught a glimpse of someone familiar sitting in the Materia room. There were no white-coated personnel currently creating new Materia as the healing of SOLDIERs was the department's top priority. That aside, it was the presence of a black pants and once-white shirt that piqued the 2nd Class's interest.

As the door slid open with a hiss, Kunsel smiled; the glimpse he'd caught through the tinted window was definitely her, but what was she doing on the SOLDIER floor?

"Maya, Whatcha doing down here?"

A shrug was his answer as the younger girl's eyes remained staring into space; her thoughts obviously elsewhere. If he had known better, Kunsel reckoned she hadn't realised his identity. Zack had said she'd been worried abut him when he told her of Genesis taking most of their forces. He'd been meaning to go up to the Turk floor but things in SOLDIER were just too hectic over the last couple of days.

"Hojo captured me and now I have three arms …"

Still no reply, just a nod of her head, as though he'd asked her a simple mundane question.

"I have to go down to the Slums and tell Aerith that Zack won't be back until late, you coming?"

Another nod, but no inclination that she'd registered his question about heading for the Sector 5 Slums to speak with their friend's girlfriend. Frowning at the young Turk, Kunsel narrowed his eyes behind his helmet's visor and sharply clapped his hands together.

"Kunsel, what the hell d'you do that for?"

Maya started with fright and trained her accusing glare up at him. Smiling happily, the 2nd Class SOLDIER looked down at the brunette.

"What did I just say, Maya?"

"Something about Hojo having three arses?"

"Close enough … now move over."

Laughing lightly, the SOLDIER sat down beside the Turk and waited for a few seconds, closing his eyes and bracing himself for an onslaught. He began mentally counting down from five, already knowing what to expect from the younger teen beside him. Four, three, two … one-

"Kunsel! Why didn't you tell me about Genesis and why didn't you ring or text or at least show up on the Turk floor to let me know you were okay? You jerk! I had to find out from Zack, and where is Zack; I haven't seen him for a few days now and did you say something about Aer-"

"Maya, breathe!"

The SOLDIER had clamped a hand over mouth and cut across her voice mid-question. How she had managed to get all that out in one breath was beyond his knowledge, but he could feel a headache coming on if she continued. When she got mad she usually just yelled, but she was worried about something. When she was worried was the only time Maya would ramble on like that without stopping for breath. Running his mind over the numerous questions she had asked, the 2nd Class answered them all, albeit in a much slower voice than she had posed the queries.

"I didn't tell you about Genesis because I was out on the battlefront near Wutai and I didn't text or ring or whatever else you said because I was in the medical ward up until last night. Zack told you I was fine to stop you worrying your butt off and coming down here. He's in Banora right now and won't be back until later tonight and I mentioned Aerith because I have to let her know that he won't be back until late. Now, what's worrying you?"

"Zack's in Banora? So is Tseng."

"Zack said everything was fine and they're on their way back now. Is that what was bothering you?"

Maya shook her head slowly; she'd heard what Josh had said to Veld about Reno. If he got any worse, then they wouldn't be able to do anything; did that mean he would die? But Reno couldn't die because … well, because he was Reno! He wasn't even supposed to be getting sick; if he hadn't pushed her away and tried to get rid of that Mako bomb, then he'd be just fine right now.

"Reno's in your medical wing with Mako poisoning."

Kunsel felt like kicking himself up the butt; of course that was what was worrying her. What other Turk would be sent to the SOLDIER floor's medical ward other that Reno? The kid normally succumbed to Mako poisoning and their head doctor, Josh, was the one to monitor the Turk each time.

Looking to his friend, the 2nd Class SOLDIER felt pity for her; she'd been best friends with the redhead since they were kids and Maya was always seen on the SOLDIER floor when the lad suffered one of his bouts, though it had been a few months since he'd last been down here.

"How is he, May?"

Smirking slightly as she heard the SOLDIER's nickname for her, the young Turk nodded her head as she looked to the ground of the Materia room.

"He's stabilised and Josh reckons he'll be fine, this time …"

"This time?"

There were loads of Materia just left in plain view on shelves, she noticed. Surely that wasn't the most secure place to leave them; someone could just walk in and pilfer what they wanted from the coloured little spheres of power. There were a few red ones aswell; she could really do with getting her hands on a Summon when the missions started up again.

"Josh said his next bout of poisoning will probably be a lot worse and, if it is, he doesn't think he'll be able to do anything about it."

"He'll be fine and you know it May; Reno would never break the promise you two made."

A wanly smile lit up the Turk's face as she nodded her head. His words were exactly what she'd been looking for; a little reassurance. Kunsel had always been a good person for advice, whether it was how to work the e-mail service on her mobile phone, or how to make the best selection of Materia for a battle, he'd always been great help.

"What happened to your shirt?"

Her brown eyes looked to the once-white shirt she was wearing; the red sauce of the shattered jar had long since dried into the fabric. That meant another shirt for the bin as she absently scraped a nail over the crusty residue. When Reno woke up, his first mission would be to clean out her cupboard.

"I got in a fight with my kitchen cupboard."

Standing up, Maya began to fist her hands in her shirt, watching happily as the stain cracked and red flakes descended to the tiled floor beneath her feet; there was a lovely pale stain left on the shirt despite her cleaning efforts. Bending slightly, she next set to work on the pants of her uniform, which had been equally attacked by the sauce, but at least the black trousers wouldn't stain as easily as the shirt. As she did so, Kunsel's eyes focused on the silver chain dangling around her neck, it's pendant responding to gravity and pointing towards the floor.

"You still wear that thing?"

A confused look before Maya realised what he was talking about; the silver necklace Reno found such entertainment in stealing. She lifted the silver pendant of the chain and studied it for a second, nodding her head. It really was an odd necklace; the pendant was the shape of a single wing with five small jewels set in its top section.

"Why? It's worthless, Maya. I was only on a 3rd Class wage back then."

"I don't care what it's worth, I like it and it's unusual; no one else I know has one."

"And they won't either; the guy that made them died a few weeks after I bought it. You'd probably get more money if you sold off the pieces of Materia in it."

Maya blinked at his words and studied what she had thought were small gems set into the pendant.

"They're a Materia?"

"Yup, probably useless though; the maker said he couldn't figure out what it did, so set it into the necklace instead. Minerva, how long ago did I buy that?"

"Three years and nine months ago, but who's counting, huh?"

Kunsel smiled at Maya's words; he'd known she would answer, just not as accurately. A whole year; that was why he'd bought her that necklace in the first place. It was a feat that they'd managed it past that milestone as young as they were back then; she'd only been fourteen when they started going out, and him sixteen.

"Hey May, I heard you and Reno are going out now. Congrats and I wish him luck."

Smiling, Maya half-hugged her ex; he always meant well. She doubted if Kunsel had a bad bone in his body and maybe that's why she had gotten bored of him and ended their relationship two months after he'd given her that necklace. It would also explain her next choice in boyfriend, but she'd rather not think of the blond right now.

"Thanks, Kunsel."

As she sat back down beside him, Maya wondered how long more Scarlet could be planning on sauntering around the medical ward. At least Gun and Keigo were stationed on guard outside; that would prevent Hojo from getting a cheap shot at Reno.

"May, I need to ask a favour."

"Go for it, huni."

Smirking, the 2nd Class SOLDIER stretched his long legs out before him, eyes trained on the tips of his boots as he wondered about how to go about his request. In the end, the twenty-year-old sighed and began speaking.

"Zack told you about Genesis taking most of our forces, right?"

"Mmmm hmmm."

"Well, the thing is Genesis and Sephiroth got into a pretty heated fight before he left and, well … when those two get into a fight, it's not as easy as separating you and Scarlet. Especially when Angeal gets in the middle and tries to calm them down."

Maya smiled as she heard this; word seemed to travel pretty fast between the SOLDIER and Turk floors these days. But still, Genesis and Sephiroth fighting didn't sound all that good to her ears.

"Go on …"

"Long story short; the blast went through the training room roof and took out most of our accommodation on the fiftieth floor. We now have about five men squeezed into rooms only supposed to sleep two. I was lucky because Zack offered to let me stay with him as 1st Classes got preference. See, I've seen your Turk accommodation and I was wondering if you'd put me up for a week or two?"

The eighteen-year-old Turk cringed as she registered what he was asking; normally she'd have no problem, but she didn't have a spare room anymore with Cissnei taking it up.

"Kunsel, my spare room isn't so spare anymore; I have a newbie Turk bunking up with me, and she's lodging there … the only thing I can offer is my sofa. I know it's not a bed but it's one of those fold-out ones if that's any good?"

Maya was surprised to see him nodding his helmeted head in the affirmative. Why he didn't want to make use of Zack's offer she didn't know. The duo couldn't have fought because he'd just said Zack was speaking to him on the phone not that long ago.

"Kunsel, why not stay with Zack?"

A sigh emitted from beneath the pointed end of the 2nd Class issued helmet.

"He's been pretty moody since Angeal left with Genesis and I don't want to be crowding him right now, especially after Banora. See, Banora is Angeal and Genesis' hometown, so odds are that Zack's gonna see one of them there and be in a sour mood. I just think it's better to leave him cool off for a bit before getting in his way."

The young Turk nodded her head of brown tresses, letting some of her side-fringe fall into her eyes; he was being a considerate friend. She'd noticed the change in Zack's attitude aswell; he wasn't as joking as he had once been, and nowhere near as carefree as his usual puppy-like self.

Extracting her mobile phone as it vibrated lowly, Maya read the text message she had just received; Scarlet had finally vacated the medical wing, and she was now heading there, but not before answering her SOLDIER ex.

"Then the couch is all your's Kunsel, just wait until later to go up and I'll introduce you to the newbie; she's kind of shy, so she could freak if you just barge in. As for now, I'm heading back to the medical wing, you going to Aerith?"

The uniformed young man nodded his head and stood, mirroring her actions.

"Yeah, but I'll walk with you over to the medical wing first; no need in Scarlet pouncing you, is there? I'd have nowhere to sleep!"

Laughing at his words, Maya walked out of the Materia room with Kunsel in tow, thankful for his tall frame beside her when Scarlet was on the loose. Frowning for a second, the girl remembered some of the words he'd spoken upon entering the Materia room earlier.

"What the hell about Hojo having three arses?"

Kunsel looked down at her and took a breath as though he intended to answer, but then laughed and shook his head, at a loss of what to say; trust her to get the totally wrong message.

**A/n- Thanks, as always, for taking the time to read guys!! It really means the world to me!!!! XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX**

**Author's Footnote:**

**1)**_ For anyone who doesn't know, the character "Kunsel" is from Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. He's a 2nd Class SOLDIER with a very small speaking role, played by Crispin Freeman (Rude). He acts as a tutorial for Zack in the early game, instructing the player about how to control Zack, how to acess the e-mail and store, and telling them what the DMW is. Throughout the game, he and Zack speak in Shinra and converse through e-mails, becoming close friends. In the end of the game, he e-mails Zack, who has escaped from Hojo's lab with Cloud, and tells him of two Shinra fugitives and also of a brave black-haired SOLDIER that people speak of (Zack himself). Kunsel says that he's uneasy with the happenings at Shinra and hints that he intends to leave._

**2)**_ Just in case there is any confusion on how to pronounce her name, "Maya" is pronounced phonetically as "My-a". When Kunsel shortens her name to "May", that's spoken as "Mai" or "My"._

* * *


End file.
